When Whispers Burn
by The Shojo Otaku Writer
Summary: -Sequel to Whispers of the Past- The dragon's blood runs in her veins. Secrets are revealed, and hatred reborn. Will the feelings of betrayal and anger consume her?
1. Returned to Normalcy

Returned to Normalcy

"_My dear, sweet Lucy…My beautiful, tiny miracle…I love you…I love you…Remember, child…I love you…I want you to find happiness, I want you to be loved, and I want you to laugh and smile and to never be afraid to be yourself. Do not fear what you are, what you will become. Open yourself to the people who will want to know you and be with you…"_

"_It burns, Mama…It hurts…"_

"_It will not always hurt, sweet sunshine. It will get better. You will learn to wield it. You will learn to use it to protect what's precious to you. For now, you must endure it…"_

"_Can you sing a song, Mama? I think I'll feel better if you sing. It always makes me feel better."_

_A strange, hypnotising voice filled her ears as a tall shadowed figure lifted her into a warm embrace and began to whisper words she could not understand. She was filled with a sense of comfort that almost overruled the painful burning that seemed to set her insides aflame. _

_She began to scream as the feeling of burning continued to grow stronger. Everything was suddenly darker, and she wasn't in her mother's arms anymore. She was being consumed by fire, and no one was there to put it out. She yelled and shouted and cried, but help did not come._

"_I love you…my sunshine…"_

"MAMA!" Lucy wrenched herself upward, her eyes opened wide at the shock that fled down her spine from waking up so suddenly. She looked around and realized she was in her bedroom. It was becoming dark outside, and when she looked at her clock it read 7:25 P.M. Confused and disoriented, Lucy tried moving off her bed, finding it a harder task than she normally would. She was parched and in need of a shower. How did she get back to Magnolia? When had she fallen asleep? How long had she been sleeping for? Where was Natsu?

"Oh my gosh," A familiar voice gasped from across the room, followed by the sound of wood hitting the floor. "Lu-chan!"

Sitting with her legs over the side of the bed, her head fuzzy and her eyes bleary, Lucy glanced up and found her friend Levi standing near the front door with her hands clapped over her mouth. The clatter she had heard was a broom falling from the blue-haired book-worm's hands.

"Oh, Levi-chan," Lucy smiled weakly at the girl, and forced herself to her feet. "When did you-," She felt the room spin as she tried to stay upright, and slapped a hand over her forehead and closed her eyes a moment, as though to steady herself.

"Lu-chan! Lie down, you're in no condition to move just yet-!" Levi guided her friend to the bed and propped her head up against a stack of pillows. "Here, drink," She pushed a glass of water into Lucy's hands, and watched as the blonde proceeded to gulp down the liquid hurriedly. "Natsu's coming back with some groceries, so I'll make you something to eat soon. It won't be long, so don't fall asleep again until after you've eaten something. "

"Ok…" Lucy's voice was hoarse, even after drinking. "Levi-chan, what happened?"

"I'll let Natsu clarify that. To be honest, his explanation was a little confusing and I was really only concerned with looking after you."

As though on cue, a knock sounded on the window above Lucy's bed and Levi opened it up so Natsu could climb through. However, when the obnoxious boy saw the blonde's eyes were open and she was fully conscious, he nearly fell back out the way he came in. Levi took him by the arm before he could lose his balance, and pulled him into the room.

"Natsu, Lucy's awake!" Levi grinned brightly at the fire mage, whose expression could only be described as a cross between surprise and excitement. "Isn't that great? Oh-thanks for doing the shopping, I'll take this into the kitchen and- Natsu?"

Natsu hadn't moved from where he had landed on Lucy's bed, and was simply staring at the bedridden girl, who looked back at him blankly. He leaned closer to her, and kept his eyes locked on the pair of familiar chocolate brown irises that hadn't opened or looked in his direction for one whole week.

"Natsu, I think Levi wants the groceries…" Lucy spoke up quietly, working up a smirk to diffuse the heavy atmosphere. Natsu raised his eyebrows and looked down at the large paper bag he was still clutching in his arms. He shook his head and climbed off the bed somewhat clumsily, passing the bag of supplies to Levi.

"How does soup sound, Lu-chan?" The blue-haired girl asked.

"Heavenly," Lucy almost laughed. "You could offer me boiled dirt and I'd eat it."

"Don't worry, I'm still a novice, but I guarantee that this will taste better than dirt," Levi laughed, then looked at Natsu and raised a pointed finger in his face. "Make sure she doesn't get out of that bed. You know better than anyone that she needs rest. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Natsu saluted the petite girl, who then turned on her heel and disappeared into the kitchen. "How are you feeling?" He now directed his attention to Lucy again, sitting on the edge of her mattress with a studious look in his eyes, as though expecting her to admit something interesting.

"Um, fine, I guess…" Lucy returned his curious look with a suspicious pursing of her lips, before she sighed and relaxed into her pillows. "I don't really remember what happened before I passed out though. I remember talking to Izayoi about my mother…and she kept apologizing for something…But then, nothing."

"I can't say I'm really surprised, but we'll talk about that stuff later," Natsu slid off her bed to stand beside her, placing an awkward hand on the top of her head. "You should rest for now though."

"But I-!"

"Look, just don't worry for now, ok?" Natsu's voice came out a tad sharper than he meant it to, and he realized that quickly enough to rephrase. "Sorry, I just think that now isn't the best time. You need to get better before we discuss anything…serious."

To his surprise, Lucy reached up and patted his outstretched arm as a smile lightened up her features, "If you feel so strongly about it, then I guess I'll let it go for now. But I hope I didn't cause anyone too much trouble while I was like this. Can I at least ask how long I've been asleep for?"

Natsu seemed hesitant to answer, but knew there wasn't anything unreasonable about asking such a question. "One week tomorrow." He mumbled these words, hoping against hope that Lucy wouldn't completely freak out, but not everything could go his way that evening, no matter how much he hoped it would.

"A WEEK?" Lucy gaped at the boy, who withdrew his hand that had begun sending tingling sensations up his arm from the close contact with his friend. "What the heck? Oh, no I was supposed to have given my rent to the land-lady as soon as I got back! She must be so mad! I should probably go pay her-! But did we even get paid? Natsu, did we-?"

"Chill out, Luce," Natsu gave a teasing wave of the hand. "I already dealt with that crazy lady. The rent's been paid, all is well."

"Oh…" Lucy sighed, relief washing over her face. "Did you do that for me? Thanks."

"That's not all he's done though," Levi suddenly reappeared, a bowl of thick, steaming liquid in hand. "He's been here every day looking after you, making sure you weren't running a fever, cleaning the house, practically playing mother and housewife simultaneously. It's been kind of hysterical actually. He's been worried, so I'm glad you've finally woken up." Not seeming to notice the blushes that had bloomed on both Lucy and Natsu's faces, Levi handed the food to Lucy, humming a quiet tune, before picking up a bag slouched against the wall. "Well, I'm off. Got to go tell everyone the good news. Will you be coming out tomorrow, Lu-chan? Everyone really wants to see you."

"Sure, I'll be there bright and early, like always." Lucy hugged her friend. "Thanks for coming Levi-chan, I'm glad I got to see you."

"No problem. Are you staying here for the night again, Natsu?"

"Um, yeah, probably," Natsu muttered in reply. "Just in case, you know…"

"Again?" Lucy frowned at the words. "You don't mean to say that you've been staying over at my house the entire time I've been asleep…?"

"Well, I-!"

"Of course!" Levi spoke over Natsu and winked at the blonde, blushing girl. "Like I said, he's barely left your side since you both got back-!"

"Levi, shut up! You were worried too-!"

"Yeah, but my worried isn't the same as yours-!"

Natsu raised his fist threateningly at the chatty girl, who raised her own hands up in surrender, although she laughed heartily at the reaction, "I got it, I got it! I'm going now. See you both later!" Levi then dashed out the door before Natsu could bully her further.

"Way to make things awkward, Levi-chan…" Lucy thought to herself, brushing her fingers against her blazing cheeks and trying not to notice that Natsu's colour matched her own.

"So is the soup any good?"

Lucy jumped when she realized Natsu was kneeling at her bedside with his head resting lopsided on his arms that were making a dent in her mattress. She sipped at the soup and found it to be delicious, although she was so hungry that her judgement might have been a bit off that evening.

"It's great," Lucy managed to say with a straight face. She hoped that he would think the heat from the soup the cause for her flushed face. "Have you eaten yet? Do you want me to make you something?"

"No, just stay in the bed. When you're done eating, go back to sleep, ok?"

"Come on, Natsu, I've been sleeping for a whole week. Can't we go for a walk or something?"

"Nope. Tomorrow, if you're feeling better."

"I feel better now…" Lucy said under her breath, setting aside her empty bowl, which Natsu took to the kitchen. He seemed dead set on keeping her where she was, and she didn't feel much like fighting with him at the moment, so instead, she compromised. "Well, can I at least go for a shower? I smell gross…"

"Really? You smell the same to me-," Natsu quickly dodged a pillow Lucy tossed hard at him as he came out of the kitchen. "Hey, what was that for?"

"That was rude!"

"How was that rude? It's true, you always smell of some weird flower."

"Wait, so I don't smell of sweat or anything to you?"

"Well, no. I guess it's because my nose is different to everyone else's. You just have the Lucy smell. Don't worry, it's a good smell."

"Right…" Lucy gave him a strange look and moved her legs from under the covers to the floor. "Regrettably, I don't have your weird nose, so I must insist that I go for a shower."

"Fine," Natsu grumbled. "Don't take too long though otherwise I'll force open the bathroom door and drag you out."

"Natsu, that isn't something you should say to a girl, even if we're friends," Lucy said. "Just sit tight, I'll be out in ten."

"What do you mean? Was it offensive or something?"

"I'll leave you to think about that…" Lucy sighed, passing him up and closing the bathroom door behind her, making sure to lock it before undressing and turning on the water.

After stepping out the shower and throwing on a clean pair of flannel pyjamas, she gathered her hair up into a half-hearted bun, brushed her teeth, and pulled on a pair of fuzzy pink socks. It was surprisingly quiet as she exited the bathroom, and she realized why when her eyes fell upon Natsu, who had huddled beneath her duvet cover and fallen into a comfortable sleep. Lucy shook her head at him in a hopeless gesture and sat down at her desk, taking out a sheet of blank paper and a feather-pen. She set to work writing a letter to her mother, like she so often had done in the past.

_Dear Mama,_

_A lot has happened since I last wrote you. I was able to learn a lot about your past from your old friend, Lady Izayoi, although I'm not sure how much of it was actually true. She told me things that didn't make much sense to me, like how you are actually this legendary "Sun and Shadow dragon", and that you have powers that were passed on to me. Is any of that true, Mama? I wonder…_

_Natsu knows something, but he won't tell me what it is until I'm recovered, or until he's convinced I'm recovered. Since I woke up, it's like I was just tossed out of a really long dream. I also have this weird feeling that something is about to happen. I know there's plenty to worry about actually, like Father, he's going to be a big problem. But there's something else that I'm worrying about. I have a weird feeling in my stomach that something's…wrong. Admittedly, it's frightening, but I can't dwell on it. I have to move forward. Never look back, keep walking. _

_That's a good rule to live by, right?_

_Love, Lucy_

* * *

><p><strong>BOOM. Back. Haha, faster than you thought it would be, huh? Well, here's the first chapter. I tried to make it longer than it usually is, and i have a feeling the rest of the chapters will have this same sort of length. The reason I never really make chapters especially long is because I don't want to tire you all out with 2 much in one chapter. Separation just makes everything easier to read (or is it just me who's too lazy to readwrite long chapters?) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first installment. Don't worry, it'll get much too serious soon enough. I'm trying really hard to find my way around 2 many dramatic scenes, but I think there may be quite a few of them anyway (sorry in advance if it makes you sick 2 read them -.-) **

**Saranghae! MWA!  
><strong>


	2. A Family's Warm Welcome

A Family's Warm Welcome

The next morning, Lucy awoke in her bed, which was strange because she didn't remember getting up from her desk the night before. Sitting up, she discovered Natsu curled up on the other end of the bed, snoring softly from under the covers. The blonde mage leaned over to examine the boy, a look of genuine curiosity appearing on her face.

"Just how much have you been worrying about me this past week?" Lucy laughed quietly, before she got off her mattress and went about getting ready for the day. "You're dead asleep…"

After combing out her hair and changing into a denim skirt and tank top, she decided to scramble some eggs and boil a pot of tea. As she poured out two cups of her favourite herbal brew, she basked in the excitement of being able to return to the guild after so long. She had missed the crazy, riled up atmosphere that Fairy Tail had always been famous for. She also missed Mirajane, Erza, Grey, and even the perverted Master.

"And it's really sunny too," Lucy thought happily as she glanced out the window in her bedroom when she returned to set a tray of tea, toast and eggs on her table. "A good omen."

A muffled yawn and rustling in Lucy's bed told her that the smell of food had succeeded in rousing Natsu from his slumber. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked over to his friend, who waved a good morning to him.

"Hey, I made breakfast," Lucy pointed to his portion that easily coaxed him out from her blankets and over to the table where she sat, already about to bite into a slice of crispy toast that dripped with melted butter.

"Looks good…" Natsu mumbled, a lazy smile flitting across his mouth, before digging into his meal. "You know, you shouldn't fall asleep like that. Mirajane says it's bad for your health."

"Bad for your-? Wait so you did move me to my bed last night," Lucy pointed her fork at the boy, who shrugged indifferently as he stuffed his face full of eggs. "Which reminds me, you didn't need to stay over last night, you know. I would have been fine."

"Well someone had to make sure you would be," Natsu spoke with his mouth full. Lucy rolled her eyes in response. "And besides, Izayoi asked me to keep an eye on you-!"

"Izayoi?" Lucy put down her fork, "Right, we need to talk about that. What is it you aren't telling me? Izayoi didn't want any more secrets kept, so why are you being so difficult. I'm fine now, so why don't you just tell me?"

Natsu seemed to be regretting bringing up the widow, and as he shovelled down the remainder of his breakfast, he seemed desperate to abort the topic of conversation. He stood up quickly and made for the window, the quickest escape route.

"Hey, wait! I'm not done with you, mister! Get back here, we have things to discuss-!"

"We'll discuss it later!" Natsu put her off, "Don't you want to see everyone first? I mean, they've been worried about you for a while."

"Oh, right…" Lucy bit her lip, conflicted, although she knew he was right. "Well, fine! Let's go to the guild. But later, we WILL talk about this!" Lucy pointed seriously at Natsu in a no-nonsense stance. She leaned out the window as he jumped to the cobbled road below.

"See you there, Luce!" Natsu waved goofily up at her before retreating in the direction of the guild.

"Don't think I'm going to forget, Natsu!" She yelled after his fleeing figure. "I'm going to make you talk! Whether you like it or not, I will get answers!" She groaned dramatically and slammed the window shut, feelings of impatient frustration darkening her mood.

Luckily, her walk to the guild gave her time to return to a calmer state of mind, and also allowed some time for her to contemplate and remember what Izayoi had told her before she had passed out. Unfortunately, her stroll wasn't long enough for her to think too deeply about anything, and before she knew it she had reached the front entrance of the Fairy Tail guild. Pausing to take a deep breath, she then reached out and opened the heavy oak doors. The moment she stepped inside, Lucy was tackled into strong-armed hug from Mirajane, who seemed to have been waiting nearby for her.

"Welcome home, Lucy!" She spoke by her ear, before pulling back to look her over. "I'm glad to see you. You're well, yes?"

"Yeah, thanks Mirajane," Lucy blushed happily at the beautiful bartender. "I'm feeling great."

"Lu-chan!" Levi rushed into Lucy's arms next. "See, you guys, she's back! Safe and sound, like I said!"

"It's not like we didn't believe you when you told us!" Gray shouted from a table near the back of the guild. "Hey, Lucy, you're still in one piece? Good to have you back!"

"Lucy," Erza approached the celestial mage and smiled at her in a stiff, formal voice. "I trust Natsu has taken care of you. Let me know if he displeased you in any way and I will personally see to his punishment." From the bar, Lucy saw Natsu's form shrink at the threat in Erza's words.

"No, no, that won't be necessary," Lucy laughed nervously. "He did a great job, really." The red-haired woman nodded in understanding, and was taken by surprise when the girl wrapped her arms around her. "Thanks for worrying about me."

Erza's expression seemed to soften at the words, being the closet-softie she was, and returned the hug before Master Makarov came forward, a grin plastered lecherously on his face.

"Well, well, if it isn't little Lucy," He nodded kindly at the girl, genuinely happy to see one of his children returned to the family. "Natsu told me all about your last mission, and despite the little incident near the end, it went quite smoothly. Well done. Take it easy for a bit and don't overexert yourself for a while."

"Yes, sir," Lucy gave an exaggerated thumbs up, and went to join Levi and Mirajane at a table, where she was presented with a large mug, on the house, filled with a fusion of green tea, ginseng, and honey ("It's good if you want to get your strength back up" Mirajane said).

At the bar, Master Makarov seated himself on the lengthy table, holding a pipe between his lips as he spoke to Natsu in a low voice. "It seems that for now, Lucy is choosing to act ignorant of her situation," The boy did not respond to this and kept his head resting against the wooden bar, his arms splayed out beside him. "But she can't be this way for very long. Soon, her father will come for her, and we'll have a fight on our hands." He exhaled a puff of thick smoke, his eyes mirroring the wheels in his mind that were turning. "And then of course we have this shadow of a problem…that Lucy's mother was a dragon, and that Izayoi has released a seal that until now has kept Lucy's true power locked away and in check."

"Yeah, but I don't think she believes all of that," Natsu looked up at the old midget who he always thought of as a grandfather. "And to be honest, I'm not sure I totally believe it either. It's not that Izayoi didn't have any proof; it's just…hard to actually take in."

"It's worrying…" Makarov tucked away his pipe and rubbed his balding head, closing his eyes. "I've never heard of such a thing as the Sun and Shadow dragon, but that's not to say it-or she- never existed. All I can say is that if all that this woman claims is actually true, we had best pray nothing bad comes from it."

Natsu turned his gaze to watch as Happy rushed right into Lucy's chest sobbing hysterically as she embraced the blue cat, giggling at the dramatic little fur-ball that had always been fond of her, although he would never admit it out loud.

"Hey, Natsu, come here!" Lucy waved a hand at him, her cheeks flushed from the tea. "What are you doing over there by yourself?"

"Nothing, nothing," Natsu grinned as he approached the table, throwing his arms over Lucy when he walked up behind her seat, playfully teasing her as she protested in an exasperated way, swatting at him until he released her to find his own place on the bench.

"So I heard you tried to teach Natsu here how to dance," Levi leaned over the table so she was inches away from Lucy's face. "I can't even begin to imagine how hilarious that must have been."

"Hey, I wasn't THAT bad," Natsu crossed his arms defensively. "Tell them, Luce!"

"Er, well I guess you weren't COMPLETELY bad?" Lucy tried her best not to sound on the verge of laughter. "You couldn't have gotten any worse at least…"

"Luce!"

"What? Come on, I gave you SOME credit. You were barefoot too, so it must have been harder for you right?"

"I would think that if you were barefoot, it would be easier…" Levi commented, receiving a 'you're not helping' look from Lucy. "A-Anyway, I also heard that this Izayoi lady had a MASSIVE place-!"

"Where did you hear all this from?" Lucy inquired, downing the last of her tea.

"Natsu told me," Levi pointed at him.

"And Levi told me," Erza inputted.

"And Erza told us," Gray, Juvia, and Cana shouted from across the room.

"Basically everyone knows," Levi shrugged, running a finger through her hair. "Funny how things just work out like that, huh?"

"How much did you tell them?" Lucy hissed at Natsu, grabbing him by his vest.

"Just about everything up until the day we left," He replied easily, but backtracked when he saw Lucy's dark expression. "It's not that I wanted to, but Levi was helping me take care of you and she kept asking questions, and I-," The girl raised an eyebrow at him. "-panicked…"

"Man, I should have known," Lucy pushed him away, "Oh well, can't be helped…"

"Exactly," Levi chimed in. "Can't be helped."

"Can't be helped," Erza agreed.

"Can't be helped," Natsu repeated.

"Can't be helped," Happy said.

"Shut up!" Lucy snapped.

* * *

><p><strong>Honestly, I wanted 2 make this chapter slightly longer, but I was too lazy to bother. Anyway, this was just a bit of a filler. I don't want things 2 get serious 2 fast, so here's the bit where its "happy-go-lucky-and-nothing-is-wrong-just-yet-except-fore-some-foreshadowing". I know I'm kind of putting it off, but its just for the sake of pacing. I know I have a history with shit pacing, so I am attempting 2 work on it (even though chapters like this are both painful to read and write...-.-). Don't be alarmed, things will b getting very creepy very soon. <strong>**I'll start immediately! Oh, I made a video based on this fanfic and where it'll be going (badly made, so I doubt it'll give away much, but maybe create some suspense?) Anyway, if u r interested its on Youtube and if you type in When Whispers Burn it should pop up. Love you all, once again, thanks for reading!**


	3. BloodStained Fingers and Inky Words

Blood-Stained Fingers and Inky Words

The next three days passed without incident. Lucy enjoyed the time she spent with her friends, getting back into the swing of things and finally feeling like she could relax and just be a girl. Every morning she went about her usual routine, with the new addition of Natsu, who seemed to stick to her side like glue, even more so than what she considered normal for him.

On the fourth morning after waking from an entire wasted week of comatose, Lucy rolled out of her bed, unsurprised to find Natsu curled up on the opposite end of the mattress. She was determined to send him packing that day. No matter what his excuse (and he had yet to give one with any merit) he had to go. It wasn't that she disliked his company, but that she was a firm believer in personal space. Too much Natsu would tire out anybody in her position. He was loud, exhausting, and abnormally energetic. Plus, he got in the way. A lot. And she knew he didn't mean to, but that was just his personality. He was naturally a trouble-maker.

"I haven't had any time to write my novel since getting back…" Lucy grumbled as she turned on the sink's faucet in her bathroom so she could wash up. "Stupid Natsu is always around and I rarely have enough alone time to even pick up a pen, much less use it…"

Cupping her hands under the tap, she splashed the water over her face, squeezing her eyes shut as she repeated this motion thoroughly. The blonde tilted her head back, allowing a couple of escaped droplets to run down her neck for a moment, before opening her eyes to find a hand-towel to dry off with. However, before she could even begin to search, she noticed a strange red colour flicker in and out of her peripheral vision. Bringing her hands up to her face, she saw that her palms looked as though they had been dipped in a can of crimson paint. But both her sense of smell and her instinct thought differently.

She screamed before she could stop herself. Where had the blood come from? Whose was it? She wasn't bleeding, so if not hers, whose? The girl thrust both her hands into the sink, turning the water on full blast, and scrubbing as hard as she could, but the colour wouldn't fade. She registered that Natsu was at the door, yelling from the other side and struggling against the lock that separated them, obviously startled by Lucy's frightened outburst.

"Luce! Hey, Luce! What's wrong! Are you ok?" Natsu bellowed. "Open the door! Answer me at least! Hey, LUCE!" The pounding stopped when the blonde shakily unlocked the door, watching dazedly as Natsu tumbled inside and slipped on the tiled floor that had been splashed with water from the sink that had overflowed. "What's going on?" He huffed, standing back up hastily as he looked Lucy over, in case she had been injured in any way. But when he had confirmed that nothing looked terribly wrong, he crossed his arms. "That wasn't because you saw a bug or something was it?"

"B-Blood…" Lucy muttered, holding out both her hands, palms up. "I can't get the blood off…"

"Blood?" Natsu frowned at the dripping wet but perfectly clean hands that visibly shook from a strange shock. He took both her hands in his own warm ones and squeezed the smaller, more delicate fingers. "Luce, there isn't any blood. Calm down, were you dreaming or something? Look again."

"Dreaming?" Lucy glanced back down at her hands that looked so very much like a child's when compared to Natsu's, and found that he spoke the truth. There was no blood.

"See?" Natsu gave a nervous chuckle as Lucy slid her hands out of his and instantly crossed her arms, which served to conceal the shivers that still tingled in her fingers. "You're fine."

It was the kindest words Lucy would hear that day. But she knew it was also a lie. Regardless, she was glad Natsu had been around. She didn't know what she would have done if she had been alone at that moment.

"I guess you were right to listen to Lady Izayoi," Lucy didn't know what made her say this, but she felt that her suspicions was correct when she looked at Natsu's face. "She knew something like this was going to happen sooner or later, right?" She turned the faucet off and grabbed a couple of towels from a nearby cupboard to soak up the water. As she knelt down to spread them out over the tiles, Lucy felt uncomfortably aware of Natsu's eyes and her quaking hands.

"How did you know?" He forced the question. "You were unconscious when Izayoi told me to keep a close eye on you…"

"Intuition, I guess," The blonde replied truthfully. "You haven't been exactly 'normal' lately. Or the best way to put it would be you've been more abnormal than usual. It got kind of obvious after the first two days."

After a moment of silence, Natsu sighed, "Stand up," and pulled her to her feet before she could reply to this order. "Finish getting ready and then we'll talk. I'll clean up here."

"Oh, you don't have to, I can do it-," Lucy made to kneel back on the ground but was practically shoved out of the bathroom by the fire mage before she could even bend her knees.

"I looked after your house for an entire week, I think I can manage wiping up some water," Natsu retorted. Lucy smiled.

"Yeah but how much of that was Levi?" She snorted at the boy's face as it burned a bright shade of red, proving she had hit a bulls-eye in mentioning the bookworm.

"S-Shut up already and do what I said," He squatted down on the floor, turning away from the blonde as he did so, and went about with the task of mopping up the tiled ground.

"Aye, sir," Lucy saluted him in a joking imitation of Happy. Retreating to her room, she suddenly felt strained and upset, so she grabbed a brush and sat cross-legged on her bed, forcing the bristles repeatedly through her tangled blonde hair, concentrating on removing every single knot and bump. After setting aside the brush, she separated her hair down the middle and gathered the two clumps into a pair of loosely-done pigtails. Just as she finished her brief moment of priming, Natsu reappeared, keeping up an easy-going profile as he collapsed into his favourite chair in the room. Then, it was quiet.

"So…" Lucy rocked herself backwards and forwards on her mattress, never looking at the fire mage long enough to where he could comment that she was staring.

"So…" He repeated, fidgeting around his seat, as though he couldn't get comfortable. "Well, I might as well get this over with. It's not like you're going to let it go, right?"

"Right," Lucy nodded.

Natsu explained what happened the day Izayoi had destroyed the magic seal that had until then been placed upon her memory and had kept her true power in check, hidden, and under control. As he spoke, Lucy's expression slowly turned from curiosity to that of resentful understanding. "And why shouldn't it?" Natsu thought. "If everything Izayoi said is true, then Lucy's been lied to for years, on top of being mistreated, unloved, and under-appreciated. On the other hand though, she's sure to be more at peace knowing who and what her mother truly was and what that makes her. But, Lucy? A dragon's daughter?"

"I'm still not sure," Lucy finally confessed, much to Natsu's amazement. "It just seems so…unreal, you know?"

"Are you saying that you think she made it all up?" Natsu's bewilderment was plain on his gaping mouth. "There's no way-!"

"Look, I'm not saying I don't believe her," Lucy said, leaning back against the wall her bed was pushed up against. "All I'm saying is that we should just wait to see what happens. I don't exactly have a ton of resources I can use to verify whether or not Izayoi is telling the truth, but I do believe that my father did hide something from me in the past. There's too much against him to deny that fact."

"And what happened just now? What do you think that was?"

Lucy looked down at her hands, remembering the violent colour that had been splashed against her palms only minutes before. "It wasn't my blood that I thought I saw…" She mumbled, a shiver creeping up her spine. "It was someone else's…"

"Izayoi said you would start to remember things," Natsu reiterated. "Do you think that maybe it had something to do with a memory?"

"I don't know, Natsu!" Lucy proclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Look can we just stop talking about this? Let's go to the guild already."

"Yeah, ok," Natsu sighed, standing up from the chair. "Oh, is it ok that I told Master everything?" He asked. "The others don't know that your parent's were once involved with Lady Izayoi, so when you're ready or when something happens, you can tell them."

"Yeah," Lucy smiled at the responsible act on Natsu's behalf. "Come on, I bet Gray's lonely without you to fight with."

"Ha! You mean he's lonely without me there to beat him up!"

"Sure, whatever you say…"

"Hey, was that sarcasm? You know it's true, I always win!"

"No, ERZA always wins."

When the pair opened the doors to the guild, it was quieter than what Lucy and Natsu were used to. The unsettled silence lasted only a moment before Mirajane made a big fuss of walking them both to the bar and offering them something to eat or drink. Levi joined them, and although somewhat forced, managed to engage Lucy in a story of one of her recent missions that she and Gajeel had taken on.

"About time you got here, flame-brain," Gray knocked Natsu playfully on the head. "I was beginning to worry I'd have to hunt you down. We have a score to settle."

"You guys always have a score to settle," Lucy rolled her eyes as Natsu cracked his knuckles with a competitive grin spreading over his face. "Can't you just admit that you both actually like each other?"

"Me? Like him?" The two boys barked in unison. "As if!"

The noise level picked up in the guild again, as though a problem had been diverted and they could all relax. Lucy noticed everything, although she tried not to think about the looks some of the guild members were giving her. However, it was hard to ignore Levi's worried expression that lay under the light cover of a smile as she narrated her tale, waving her hands about almost too enthusiastically. When Mira set a cup of sparkling cider in front of Lucy, the celestial mage offered some of it to Levi, who accepted much too happily.

"Hey, is something wrong, Levi-chan? You're acting kind of strange." Lucy looked contemplatively at the girl, placing a hand on her friend's brow to check her temperature. "Are you feeling sick?"

"N-No, no, not at all!" Levi laughed too loudly, slamming down the drink she had taken a sip from on the table.

"Are you sure?" Lucy bit her lip, worried for her friend. "If you're unwell I can take you home."

"Hahaha! Natsu, do you hear Lu-chan? She's so paranoid!" Levi yelled to Natsu, who was brawling with Grey a few feet away. "How are things though? Are you guys going to take a mission any time soon?"

"Well…" Lucy rested her head in her hands. "Lady Izayoi paid us really well. In fact, I'm set for the next two months if I spend my money wisely enough, so no missions for me as of yet."

"Oh, I see," Levi bobbed her head, listening avidly, as though Lucy was speaking of something as important as life-or-death. "Taking a break is a good idea, very good idea. Don't want to get burned out or anything. Maybe I'll take a break too-!"

"Levi-chan, really, what's going on? You're not acting like yourself."

Levi swallowed, crossing and uncrossing her legs, averting her gaze to the floor and up to the ceiling. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say another word, Erza came up from behind them and placed a newspaper down on the bar table, her eyes dark and her mouth set in a thin line on her face.

"Read it." The red-head said shortly.

"Erza,-!" Levi protested, turning in her chair to face the woman who looked down at them with a hard expression. "Why would you-!"

"She's going to find out sooner or later, and she deserves to know." Erza said.

"D-Don't listen to her, Lu-chan-!" Levi stumbled over her words, making to grab the newspaper before Lucy could touch it, but the blonde stopped her with a hand on her wrist. "You don't have to read it-!"

Without a word, Lucy ignored the girl's protests and directed her attention to the large printed words on the front page of Magnolia's paper that read in bold, black, inky letters, "JUDO HEARTFILIA TO RETURN TO COMPANY AS PRESIDENT ONCE AGAIN".

"Hey, what are you guys looking at?" Natsu laughed breathlessly as he left a banged up Gray lying on the floor with a new set of bruises and burns. He threw his arms around Lucy and Levy both and looked over their shoulders at the newspaper. As he read, his smile slowly diminished to nothing, and he finally noticed how uncharacteristically quiet the entire guild had become. "No way…" He heard himself mutter.

"Yeah, I know. Crazy stuff huh?" Lucy commented, a smile trembled on her lips in such a weak expression that she knew it wouldn't fool even a child. "I wonder if maybe he'll try running the company a little differently than before?" She laughed then, a shaky, sad giggle that quickly cracked and transformed into a sob.

"Lu-chan…" Levi's eyes filled with tears at the stricken look in the blonde's features.

The blue-haired girl stretched out her arms to pull Lucy into a hug, but withdrew when the blonde snatched away the newspaper, knocking over her half-finished cup of cider as she did so and pushed herself out of her chair, bowling over Natsu in the process. She then ran from the guild, all the while clutching the paper to her heaving chest and entirely ignoring the shouts from behind her from her family.

Outside in the open air, Lucy ran to the edge of the walkway bordering the river that ran through Magnolia, breathing heavily as the autumn wind stung her eyes that already burned with tears. With quivering hands, she forced herself to read the article on her father. It didn't say much other than that he had been offered his place back at the company and would be making a big comeback as the president. Once she had read and reread the words, she let her hands drop to her sides, feeling the paper between her fingers rustling in the breeze, a reminder that war would come and that she would once again be put on the spot and have to make decisions she didn't want to make. She looked up at the sky, eyes bleary from the salt water that leaked from her eyes. The sun that had burned bright only about an hour earlier was now shrouded from view behind large thick clouds that made everything around her look cold and grey. Unthinkingly, she brought the paper that bore her father's picture on the front page to her face again.

She felt the vision before it happened, then waited and watched as the truth began to unfold, unwilling to fight against the scenes that began to play like a movie reel in her mind's eye.

_She watched as a younger version of herself cried over a mattress that bore a lifeless figure under a wrapping of white sheets. Her father stood behind the young girl, his expression blank, unfeeling, and empty. He did not stand there for long before taking his leave and abandoning his daughter at her mother's bedside, even though the child called after him and reached too late for his sleeve. A woman approached little Lucy and tried to lead her away from the dead body, but she screamed for her mother and latched on to the mattress, desperately pleading for the corpse to awaken, to sing again, to hold her in her arms again, to speak to her again. The woman was finally forced to lift the child up and away from the bed, turning to the door as the child kicked, screamed and thrashed. Just when it looked like the war between the adult and the girl was over, a light began to seep from the youth's body like a human torch, a light that transformed into a fire that seemed to take hold of the woman who abruptly allowed the girl to fall to the ground, where she tumbled backwards to rest on her hands and knees, her body already dying down to a faint glow as she watched as the woman who had tried to take her from her mother burned before her eyes until there was nothing but a steaming piece of blackened flesh left. She realized her hands were coated in the woman's blood that had spread out over the tiled floor and under her fingers, warm and thick._

"_What have you done…?" A dark, intimidating figure she knew to be her father rose up in the doorway, obviously drawn to the smell of the burning body, as well as half the house's servants. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"_

With her father's voice still echoing in her ears, Lucy fell to her knees, feeling a layer of cold sweat icing her forehead, as she tasted bile rise up in her throat and spew out of her mouth onto the sidewalk. She closed her eyes and knew she was falling back onto the concrete. However, instead of cracking her head against the pavement, she landed against a warm chest that was heaving almost as hard as hers was. It was by no means a comfortable place to land, but Natsu was far better than any rock she could have landed on. She looked up at his face, at his wide, dark eyes and open mouth as he yelled words she couldn't hear. Was that fear she saw in his eyes? No, Natsu wasn't ever scared. Not of anything.

The newspaper clutched in her fingers moments before now easily blew away with the wind and into the river that washed the pages of ink into the depths of the clear rushing waters. But the damage had already been done. The headline that had dug deep into Lucy's heart was now printed all too clearly against the entire Fairy Tail guild, and no amount of water could wash that away.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, this chapter was extra long, just for you guys. Cuz I love you. and I couldn't find a stopping point. I had fun writing this chapter and I hope that it wasn't SO dramatic that you thought some of the drama was too unnecessary. I know how annoying that can be. Was it ok though? Oh plz b ok. <strong>**So who loved that gorgeous NaLu picture on the latest FT manga update? ****Wasn't it just delicious? Bad news came on it though. the movie is only coming out in August next year. That's a sick piece of info to put on such an awesome picture...-.- Almost cruel. Hahaha, oh well, I'll try to be patient. **

**Anyway, plz enjoy, I'll b updating again soon, hopefully, if I dont get writers block. Still adore you all! MWA! 3  
><strong>


	4. To Be Loved and Lucky

To Be Loved and Lucky

The next time Lucy opened her eyes, she was back in her bedroom, and she would have believed everything that had happened at the guild earlier that morning to be nothing but a bad nightmare, if it wasn't for the acidic aftertaste of vomit in her mouth and the expression on the young dragon-slayer's face when she looked over at him. She sat up, but did not make any effort to leave the bed.

"Natsu, I…" She coughed hard, her throat cracked and dry. "I-!"

"Don't try to talk yet," Natsu passed her a cup of water, which she took with gratitude. "How are you feeling, do you have any pain anywhere?"

She shook her head, despite the ache that pounded on her skull, which she guessed was the result of uncovering a memory that had been suppressed for so many years. "I'm fine." She managed to say after downing the water, passing a hand over her face and taking a deep breath.

"But you're…" Natsu didn't need to finish. Lucy's hand came away with fresh water stains that had until then been resting on her cheeks. She had been crying in her sleep, and hadn't realized.

Ignoring this, Lucy looked up at the dragon-slayer, and it was only then that she realized he wasn't alone. Also standing by her bed was none other than Master Makarov, who stood barely tall enough to look over her bed. "Master,-!" She exclaimed. He gave a hearty laugh in return, waving a hand from beside Natsu.

"Good evening," He smiled easily. "What's this now? Sick, again? And when you have only just recovered?" Lucy knew he was only teasing, but she was glad for it. If the old geezer had been solemn and without the jokes, it would have done nothing for her nerves that were already grating on the edge of insanity.

"Sorry, I'm giving all of you so much trouble," Lucy bit her lip. "But what are you doing here, Master?" She asked, although she already knew the answer to the question.

"You already know the answer to that, my child," Makarov confirmed her suspicions, hopping onto the bed (with some difficulty) and crossing his arms. "Now tell me," He looked hard at her once he had positioned himself into a sitting position with his feet dangling over the edge of the mattress. "What have you remembered?"

"Remembered?" Lucy feigned innocence so quickly she was surprised and shocked with herself. "What do you mean? I didn't-," She was cut off by the elder's acute stare.

"Listen to me, my child," He sighed, "In order to protect you from the coming danger, I need to know what it was you saw. What it was that has been kept from you for so long. Natsu and I both know that you have remembered something."

"How do you know that?" Lucy snapped, though she did not mean it to sound so harsh. "How?" She softened the sharpness in her tone.

"You were saying things in your sleep," Natsu spoke up. "You've been talking in your sleep for over four hours, yelling and shouting things."

"Like what, may I ask?" Her voice came out icy and sarcastic, and she inwardly kicked herself, wanting to remain calm and unaffected by the interrogation being carried out.

"You were apologizing a lot. And calling for…for your mother," Natsu muttered. He looked like he could have said more on the subject, but he quickly brushed aside the question. "Look, that's not so important. Just tell us what it was that you remembered!"

"I didn't remember anything!" Lucy shouted, putting her hands up over her ears.

"Yes you did! Lucy, do you think we're stupid or something? It's obvious that you're hiding it!" The fire mage argued, clenching his fists in frustration.

"No!" She simply yelled out in a short burst.

"Don't you trust us? We're your family, dammit! We want to protect you!"

"Don't you think I know that!" Lucy suddenly threw the blankets off and scrambled out of the bed to stand up and face the boy. "Don't you think I know how much you all care for me? How any of you would give your life to save mine? I feel it more and more every day I spend with this guild, which is why you can't ask me about this memory. You can't!"

"Which is exactly why you must tell us," Master Makarov intervened, and Lucy turned to the old man who remained at the edge of her bed. "Because that's what family is. Please, Lucy, let us protect you."

"Why do you want to protect me so badly? I haven't done anything to deserve it…"

"Because we love you, of course!" Natsu burst out. "We love you, Luce…No matter what you've done in the past."

Lucy looked at the boy with the truthful eyes that shone with the sunset that now filtered in through her bedroom window. She dropped to her knees, a quaky laugh escaping her lips as she wiped away the tears that were attempting to drown out her voice as she replied, "Really…saying such a thing so suddenly…" She gave a great sniff as Natsu crouched down in front of her.

"Geez, did you forget or something?" He ruffled the girl's blonde hair in a playful, affectionate gesture. "I'll tell you again if you need to hear it more often. "We love you. We love you. We love you, silly Lucy."

"God," Lucy thought as she lifted her face to Natsu's bright, happy grin. "I'm so lucky to be part of this family…So lucky…So very lucky…"

"Understand?" Natsu asked, and Lucy nodded, her bottom lip trembling from tears she was concentrating on keeping back.

She then recounted her vision of the past, feeling Natsu's warm, reassuring hand that had moved to rest on her shoulder as she talked. She did not once look at either of them until she had finished her narration, and when she had, she hesitantly chanced a look at Natsu, whose face was set in an unreadable expression. She looked at Makarov, also seeing nothing in the wrinkled old face.

"I'm sorry…" Lucy swallowed, moving away from Natsu as she rose to her feet, feeling a numbness creeping through her legs as she did so. "I really am…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…It was an accident…"

"Lucy, it's alright." Natsu seemed to snap out of the stupor he had fallen into, as did the master, who watched calmly as the fire mage got up from his position on the ground and walked after the blonde, who had retreated to the far corner of her room with her hands clutching the sides of her head. "Really, it's completely fine!"

"Don't tell me that this is "fine"!" Lucy yelled at him, pulling at her hair in a pure fit of rage. "How can this be fine? How?"

"Because it is!" Natsu pinned the girl's arms down before she could really hurt herself. "It's ok because none of this was your fault! It's ok because it's in the past, and it's ok because you still have a family! You're still our Lucy! Lucy of Fairy Tail!"

"I killed someone…I killed her…What if she had a family too? What if she had someone she loved, someone she cared about? Even if it was an accident, I ended her life…and probably caused her loved ones pain…And I just forgot about it and went about my life…like it was nothing…"

"Luce…"

"I don't need the rest of the memories Izayoi's making me remember," Lucy continued. "I know what happens next…She was called by my father to wipe away my memory of that time, and lock away my powers indefinitely. That way, I would grow up to be his little heiress, his daughter, his pawn. Not the offspring of a mythological dragon with the power to both heal and kill.

"I know what he will come for," Lucy's mouth turned up in a mocking smile. "He will want that strange power that I received from my mother when I was born. He will need an "ultimate weapon" so his position in his company will never be threatened again. He'll come for that, with every intention of taking what he wants. But I won't let him. I won't allow him to take anything. He will come with nothing and leave with nothing."

"Makes sense to me," Makarov piped up after a moment of tense silence, jumping down from the bed and making his way to the apartment's door. "I assume I have permission to inform the guild on everything that has transpired here today?"

"Yes," Lucy answered immediately. "I want them to be as prepared as possible. I need them to be. If someone were to die because of me, I,-!"

The master interrupted with a loud gust of laughter, "Not likely!" He reassured her. "I have a stubborn bunch of children, remember? No one dies very easily in Fairy Tail."

"Master…"

"Rest well, Lucy, and don't you worry, there will be no deaths; not on my watch anyway." And with that, the old man took his leave, shutting the door behind him, and as his chuckles slowly died away, Lucy wondered to herself how he could have so much faith in that statement; much less even promise such a thing to her. They weren't immortal, so there was never a guarantee that no one would die, right?

"You can let go of me now," Lucy looked down at one of her wrists that Natsu still clung to, as though worried she would try to rip out her hair again. "Sorry about all this..."

"About what?" Natsu's eyes had been out of focus when she had returned her attention to him, but he released her and backed off a couple of steps.

"Never mind…" She sighed, turning her back to him so he couldn't see the weak smile she was trying to keep on her face momentarily disappear from view. "I think I need some sleep." She realized the truth in her words as a thick cloud of exhaustion filled her head up, making it hard to think clearly.

"Don't you want something to eat though? You've been asleep all day, and before that, whatever we had for breakfast was barfed out."

"Nice," Lucy raised an eyebrow at the boy. "But I don't feel well, so maybe later. I'm going to wash up first and then hit the hay."

As the blonde climbed into the shower, the remaining falsities pinned to her face fell off one by one, until she couldn't tell whether most of the water running down her face was salty or fresh. Even though she knew everything Natsu and the Master had told her was true, that she could be blamed for nothing, it still hurt so much she could barely breathe without releasing a shuddering sob with every inhale and exhale of air she took. She waited until she was sure she wasn't going to burst into uncontrollable hysterics before climbing out the shower and throwing on a new pair of pyjamas. The celestial mage then exited the bathroom and crawled under the covers of her bed, hoping to fall asleep quickly and escape from reality for just a few hours. But her heart continued to squeeze tears from her eyes, even though only moments ago she was sure she was all cried out. Natsu, who had taken a seat at her coffee table while she had occupied herself in the bathroom, easily smelled the salty water that was staining the pillow under Lucy's head. Silently, he moved to her bed and lay beside her curled up form that faced away from him, and he whispered things in her ear and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's ok. It'll get better. You have to cry it out."

"We're all here for you."

"It's not your fault."

"We love you, Lucy. We love you."

"I love you, I love you."

As she drifted to sleep, these soft, wonderful words followed her into unconsciousness, opening up a newer, deeper sleep, where there was no room for dreams or nightmares.

"Even though I know it would be the responsible choice to leave Fairy Tail behind," Lucy thought before fully giving herself to the darkness. "I am selfish enough to endanger everyone in my problems because of how much I dearly love all of them, and because I could never even think of leaving this family. It would make them so terribly sad, and I would regret making that decision with all my heart, for as long as I live. So the only choice left is to fight for my family and for myself. There is no other way."

* * *

><p><strong>There you gooooo! Hope you like it, and again, sorry if this is too dramatic. Theres like...ONE more thing thats going to happen to Lucy, and it's necessary for her power awakening. Then I swear I'll lay off the D.I.D (damsel in distress) thing for a bit. I have the finale of this fanfiction all figured out, and its probably the most boss moment Lucy could have EVER (I actually wish it would happen in the manga. cuz then it would b animated. and it would look AWESOME.) Sorry, I'm rambling. The latest FT chapter was pretty good. I'm excited for their whole "Olympic Guild Games" thing thats going to happen. I wasn't even that upset for the lack of NaLu moments (surprise). Well, expect more soon! MWA! Love ya!<strong>


	5. Unyielding Fever

Unyielding Fever

The coming days started off as difficult. It took a great deal of effort for Lucy to get up in the morning, and if it wasn't for her friends, she would have easily slept these days away and chosen to drown in her own sorrows. The weight of guilt however gradually became easier for her to endure, as she was always being distracted and involved in the Fairy Tail guild, forgetting her problems and focusing on all the kinds of happiness a family could offer.

The rest of her memories returned only four day after she had come clean to Natsu and the master. She was sitting at one of the guild's many crowded tables, writing her novel, when her vision blurred and her mind's eye replayed the last few scenes before Izayoi had wiped her memory. It happened exactly as she had guessed it had, so thankfully, she did not receive any more unexpected shocks.

_Izayoi stood in her father's office while she peeked around the door as he yelled and pointed at the widow until she seemed to give in to a demand that sounded muffled and unfamiliar to Lucy's ears._ _Turning on her heel in a brusque, cold fashion, the woman lifted the confused, young child into her arms and pressed on down one of the many long, dismal halls of the Heartfilia mansion until she reached a door that opened up into an unused room. Izayoi splayed Lucy out on the lone mattress in the centre of the abandoned chamber_ _and pulled off the hat that had shielded her eyes from view. Without a moment's hesitation, the young woman pinned the girl to the bed, easily overpowering the squirming youth that began to whimper in discomfort. _

"_Sweet Lucy," Izayoi's eyes were closed, but water still seeped from the corners. Most of the woman was trembling. Her lips, her hands, her shoulders, almost all that Lucy could see from the bed, all of it shook in some way or another. "I love you so much, my darling. Layla loved you too, so much it near knocked me breathless every time I saw the two of you together. You are such a gift, and one day, others will receive your friendship and love you, as you will love them. And when the time comes, I promise, I will return everything I am about to take from you in the future. One day, you will become Layla's daughter again. You will become the what she could not raise you to be. I promise. I promise."_

_Izayoi then placed a single finger on the young Lucy's forehead, muttered unheard words, and opened her eyes. Everything melted, and she was suddenly falling into a deep, black abyss that she knew did not have an end or a bottom. _

"Hey, Blondie," A familiar, heavy voice made her open up her eyes, and she found she had keeled off her chair, right into the strong but surprisingly gentle arms of the iron dragon slayer, Gajeel. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, sorry," Lucy tried to laugh off the fainting spell, attempting to stand up without attracting too much attention. Unfortunately, it's difficult not to notice anything with Gajeel's unintentionally loud, booming voice that echoed over most of the chatter in the guild. "Thanks for that."

"Lucy, is everything ok?" Mirajane grabbed hold of the blonde's arm, in case she swayed or showed a sign of physical weakness. "Gajeel, what happened?"

"I dunno. I just saw the girl slide right off her seat. She must have fallen asleep or something." The dragon slayer shrugged in a non-committed way.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lucy assured the two mages, raising her hands up and stepping away from Mirajane. "Gajeel is right, must have dozed off." Since the master had explained her situation to the guild, she had received lots of consoling words and kind gestures. She guessed it was because they were all worried for her, and she didn't want to further add to these feelings if it wasn't necessary. "But I think I'll just head home, if that's ok with-,"

It was fast. Quicker than she could even process, but for barely a second a vicious stabbing pain pierced her skull, as though she had been smashed against a boulder, a searing, burning boulder that almost knocked her to the floor. Fortunately, she could control herself enough to downplay the pain to where she only staggered to the side. She clapped her hand to her head, closing her eyes and inhaling deep breaths of air.

"Lucy? What's wrong?" Mirajane approached the blonde, "Lucy?" She repeated when the girl didn't answer her immediately.

"Its fine, I'm ok," Lucy mumbled, not daring to move in case she collapsed. "Just give me a minute…"

"Hey, what's going on over here?" Natsu's voice sounded too loud to Lucy. "Luce? What's up?"

She felt his hands on her shoulders, as she shook her head and finally opened her eyes to find him only inches away from her face. "Nothing, I'm fine." She answered.

"No you're not," Mirajane rebuked her words once she put a hand to Lucy's head. "You have a fever."

"She does?" Natsu frowned, confused. Lucy didn't blame him for his ignorance of what a fever was. He lived with a much higher temperature than most, so her heat must have seemed normal to his touch.

"Lucy, are you sick again?" Happy pouted sadly at her from Natsu's shoulder. "Do you have to go home? I'll lend you Natsu for another night if you need him. I can just stay with Mirajane. Natsu said that if I'm around when he's trying to take care of you that I'd be bored."

"Come on, let's go," Natsu didn't wait for Lucy's consent. Something in the way she just stood there silently with nothing to say made it ok for him to put his arm around her waist and guide her out the guild. "Mira, tell Master what happened, ok?" He called over his shoulder to the woman who replied with a "Will do".

Not even halfway to Lucy's house, the girl could barely walk and Natsu opted to carrying her piggy-back style. She quickly fell asleep that way, despite Natsu's chattering that had been meant to keep her conscious at least until he reached her apartment.

Even as he laid her down, she remained immersed in sleep, and as he sat beside her, he realized he was clueless as to how to bring down a fever, so thought of the opposite of fire and what should be done to put one out.

"Water?" He thought at first. "Or ice, maybe?" Natsu contemplated his options as he sat cross-legged and cross-armed at the end of the mattress until finally wandering into the kitchen, looking for something he could use to help Lucy, eventually coming up with some ice-cubes in the freezer, a wet cloth, and medication he found in one of the cupboards. "Dammit. Where's Levy when I need her…" He muttered as he rolled up the ice cubes in the damp towel and started patting it over the celestial mage's forehead. "I hope this is right. The only reason I'm doing it is because I saw it on some TV show that Happy likes to watch…"

After twenty minutes of pressing the cooled bundle to Lucy's face, the fire mage felt her forehead, but pulled away confused and unsure. "Does she still have a fever or not? She feels normal to me…"

"Still feverish," A voice sounded abruptly, shocking Natsu as Titania spread a hand over Lucy's head. "Have you given her medicine yet?"

"Um-no," Natsu recovered from the surprise appearance of the red-head. "I didn't hear you come in."

"You were concentrating pretty hard on something then. I've been looking over your shoulder for a while now. Levy will be here soon. She said she knows some remedies for fevers."

"Oh good…" Natsu breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't know how to help with stuff like this…"

"Apparently," Erza ruffled his hair, smirking all the while. "Until Levy gets here, put some fresh water over that cloth and I'll try to get Lucy to swallow the fever reducing pills."

"Ok, thanks, Erza." Natsu grinned, jumping up and sprinting to the nearest faucet, just as a knock sounded and Levy appeared, poking her head around the door.

"Never fear, guys! Levy is here with all the knowledge we need to get Lucy better!" The book-worm cheerfully skipped inside, followed by Gajeel and Gray who was tailed by Juvia, who lead Cana and Master Makarov.

"W-Wait a second!" Natsu gaped at the suddenly crowded apartment. "What are you all doing here?"

"They were worried, so they came on behalf of the guild," Levy answered nervously, kneeling beside Lucy's bed and taking out a thermometer that she easily stuck under the girl's tongue.

"There is no "on behalf" if you brought the entire guild!" Erza placed her hands on her hips.

"Aw, come on, let them stay! They can help!" Levy's lower lip jutted out as she blinked puppy-dog eyes at the older woman, who glared in her annoyed Erza-way at the uninvited guests.

"Fine, but they are to stay out of the way unless called on by me. Understood?" She barked at the crowd, who gave an affirmative nod in her direction, their eyes wide with fear.

Levy removed the thermometer from Lucy's mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Not good. We really need to bring her fever down."

"What can we do?" Erza asked as Levy bit her thumbnail in deep though before snapping her fingers.

"Gray, I need you to make enough ice to fill up a bathtub. You can do that right?" Levy instructed. The dark haired boy cracked his knuckles.

"No problem." He made his way into Lucy's washroom and went about constructing a slew of crushed ice until the tub was filled to the brim.

"Erza, Cana, help me with her," Levy began to sit Lucy up, supporting her from under the arm. The three girls closed the bathroom door behind them, locked it, and undressed the semi-conscious mage before gently lowering her into the tub. The entire time, Lucy mumbled incoherent words, but occasionally, the phrase "It burns" would be discernible amidst the gibberish.

"Take this, Lu-chan," Levy coaxed her mouth open and made her swallow two pills. As they waited a few minutes for the ice and the medication to take effect, Natsu was questioning Makarov, asking for answers that, truthfully, the elder did not have.

"What did you tell them, Master?" Natsu prodded incessantly at the guild-master. "Is there a reason why everyone came here? It's just a fever, there's no reason for everyone to be so worried, right?"

"It's not an ordinary fever." Makarov answered bluntly. "To be safe, I thought bringing everyone would be a good idea in case we could use their magic in some way to help. And I was right to do so…" He referred to Gray, who sat smug in one of Lucy's chairs, proud that he could offer something no one else in the guild could that would benefit Lucy's health.

"What makes you say that it's not an "ordinary fever"?" Natsu frowned at the old geezer, who simply shrugged from his place on Lucy's desk.

"A hunch…"

"A hunch?" Natsu blurted out incredulously. The master nodded, his eyes solemn and his figure stiff as he looked on at nothing, but seeing something the others didn't.

"Do you remember what Lucy said about this power that Izayoi claimed she had?" Makarov asked suddenly.

Natsu thought back, recalling that final day of his and Lucy's duty to Lady Izayoi, answering with a short "Yeah. Why?"

A scream suddenly erupted from the bathroom, snapping Natsu's attention away from the elder, his restless, anxious expression matching everyone else's around him. His fingers twitched with a need to do something, ANYTHING that could help. Makarov reached out, as though feeling his unease, and kept a firm hand on the boy's wrist, saying under his breath, "Don't worry. It will end."

"What does that mean?" Natsu hissed as he turned back to him, his eyes ablaze. "What aren't you telling me? Is Lucy going to be alright or not?"

"One way or another, it will end." The old man replied with such vague conviction that it only worsened Natsu's hold on his nerves, and he was about to demand a real explanation when Levy burst from the bathroom, her hands and most of her front soaked with water and her face frantic. Erza followed.

"I don't know what else to do!" She paced outside the door, biting the rest of her thumbnail off and switching to her other hand. "Nothing's working! It doesn't make sense!"

"What do you mean? Isn't she back to normal yet?" Gray stood up, completely baffled. "The ice should have helped in some way, right?"

Another shriek sounded from the bathroom.

"I don't know, I don't KNOW!" Levy suddenly snapped, but quickly collected herself when Gajeel put a rough, steadying hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, Gray," She said before adding, "I don't know what's causing this and Lu-chan's in a lot of pain…"

"Guys," Cana appeared from the bathroom and looked at Erza and Levy, "Lucy won't move from the floor. If I even touch her she screams and won't stay still."

"Has she said anything at all about what we can do for her?" Erza inquired.

"The only thing I could get out of her was what she was saying earlier. She just keeps repeating "It burns", sometimes "It's taking me"."

"Put her back on her bed." Master Makarov spoke up firmly from his place on Lucy's desk. "Her body will repair itself with or without our help. In the meantime, we've done all we could here, so I suggest clearing out. Natsu, Levy, Erza and Gray, stay here. When Lucy wakes up, she'll need her closest friends by her side. Understood?"

Although there were protests at first, the rest of the Fairy Tail party eventually took their leave when promised that they would hear news if something happened. Once the room was emptier (and quieter), Levy turned to Erza, her eyes tired.

"Erza, could you please try to move her out of the bathroom?"

"Already on it," Erza said to Levy, and was followed by Natsu and Gray, both of who couldn't bear to sit still anymore. Natsu soon regretted his decision to peer in the washroom when he glimpsed Lucy's form sprawled out on the tiled floor. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she lay on her side, curled up in a tight ball in nothing but a pair flannel shorts and a tank top, something that the flame wizard recognized as something she would use for pyjamas during hot summer nights. Her mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out, or if there was, no one else was aware of it.

"Gray, loosen her fists, her nails are cutting through her skin." Erza called him over. He nodded and knelt by Lucy's form, and Natsu watched as Lucy's fingers were straightened out, the tips of her nails coming up red with her own blood.

"What can I do?" He finally asked, feeling useless and unhelpful.

"It would be better if you didn't touch her," Erza said as she hoisted Lucy up over her shoulder, ignoring her screams and writhing as best she could. "Your body heat could make her worse. Levy! Is there a spell you can cast to soundproof the apartment?" She shouted to the book-worm.

"Why can't we just take her to the hospital?" The other girl suggested as Erza laid Lucy down on her mattress. "Maybe she would be better off with doctors that know how to take care of fevers, you know?"

"No-!" Lucy's voice rasped, much to the surprise of her friends. Levy sat beside Lucy and looked at the girl's pale, sweating face.

"Lu-chan, why not? If there's someone more skilled that can make you better, then-,"

"No one can help me," She barely whispered. "It's not something that can just be "helped"."

"What do you mean?" Erza stepped up to the bedside. "If your fever continues to rise like this, you'll-!"

"You have to trust me…please," A tear slid from the corner of her eye, but did not make it halfway down her face before it evaporated into the air. "I know what's happening…and so does Natsu…" Her half-lidded eyes wandered to where Natsu stood a few feet away, leaning against her wall with a look that consisted of both stubborn denial and an unspoken fury at something Erza, Levy and Gray were ignorant of.

"Natsu, what is she talking about?" Erza whirled about in a single step and faced the stricken boy that stood with his eyes on the ground and his arms crossed over his chest. He refused to speak, and before Erza could try to force something out of him, Levy gasped.

"Lu-chan, your hand,-!" Levy dropped the blonde's hand that she had lifted up to hold in her own. "It burned me…Natsu, come over here and feel Lucy's head." Levy said, with an idea brightening her eyes.

Natsu came closer and placed his palm on his friend's brow, pulling away almost as quickly as Levy had. "Hot…" He muttered.

"You understand then…" Lucy exhaled words that barely held any substance in the air. "Izayoi was right about everything…including my mother…"

"You can't be though…" Natsu looked down at the girl's soft hazel eyes and the weak smile that she had placed carefully on her lips. "You just can't…It's just a fever, Luce…"

"Natsu…" Lucy sighed, her exhaustion plain on her face. "What's happening to me right now, happened before, when I was a child, before my mother died…I remembered it in a dream. It's all true…All of it…and I was a silly fool to doubt Lady Izayoi…"

"That widow you worked for?" Levy interjected. "What does she have to do with this?"

"You have to tell them, Natsu," Lucy continued. "I wasn't sure before, but I am now. This burning is taking me…I don't know how much longer this is going to last, and I don't know how much more I'm going to endure, but I'll live. It's meant to be this way…" If there was more she had to say, it seemed impossible as her last words choked out of her mouth and she fell silent again.

"Natsu,-!" Levy shouted at the boy in a demanding tone that surprised even Erza. "What does this Izayoi woman have to do with Lucy's sickness?"

Natsu finally yielded the information he had kept from them until now regarding the truth of Lucy's mother, trying to run through minor details, but always having to return to those them when Levy opened her mouth and asked a question. Finally, after an hour spent explaining and another hour answering questions, all four friends sat quietly in the room with nothing left to say.

"It's so…" Erza shook her head, unable to come up with the right-sounding word.

"Completely crazy?" Gray finished. "Lucy of Fairy Tail, the runaway heiress and celestial spirit mage holding such a huge secret like this? Who'd have thought?"

"A true-born dragon's daughter…" Levy said it aloud because she was still unable to wrap her head around the very idea. "But Lu-chan looks like any other normal girl…" She looked over her shoulder at the girl who had twisted and turned continuously for the past two hours. None of them, Natsu included could touch her now without their fingers becoming red and angry from where they touched her skin. It was a fever made to harm anyone who tried to help her, even a dragon-slayer would get burned if a hand was laid upon her.

"What time is it…?" Erza said, looking up from her seat at the coffee table, where they had always gathered in the winter to huddle under Lucy's kotatsu.

"Just past 2 A.M…." Levy answered, glancing toward the alarm clock on Lucy's desk. "It's late…"

"Or really early…" Gray mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "She hasn't been screaming or anything, maybe that's a good thing…"

"Or a bad thing," Natsu said. "It could mean she doesn't have any energy to scream. My guess is that she would if she could."

"What do you think is going to happen when she wakes up for real?" Gray asked no one in particular.

"Scary thought, if you think about it," Erza said. "We don't know, and neither does she."

"It doesn't matter what happens!" Natsu snapped. "We're her family and we'll be there for her, whatever happens, right?"

"Of course," Levy raised an eyebrow at the fire mage. "What else would we do?"

Erza and Gray nodded in accordance with the blue-haired girl, as though it was the most obvious thing to do.

"I think I can trust you all with taking care of Lucy," Erza said as she stood up and made her way to the door. "I should get back to the guild and keep the peace there. I'm sure everyone is waiting for an update."

"Probably right, tell them that Lucy will be fine." Levy waved to the older woman.

"And about what Natsu told us too," Gray said. "About Lucy's mother…and about Lucy."

Erza nodded and left the apartment complex, an almost unnoticeable smile traced her lips as she walked in the direction of the guild.

"Natsu…How much longer do you plan to lie to yourself?" She thought as she walked along the cobbled sidewalk, her eyes lifted up to where stars winked down at her from the black abyss above. "Family has always been your number one priority, but somehow, you have allowed Lucy into a different part of yourself that cannot be accessed by the rest of us. "She's different" that's what you think about her."

She's different.

* * *

><p><strong>Made you guys wait a bit longer this time. sorry about that. i had a bit of Writers Block. This chapter was a bit of torture for me, but I got it done anyway. It's a bit longer cuz i was too lazy to actually end it. LOL. <strong>

**I just finished watching the No.** **6 anime. Has anyone actually seen this? IT'S INCREDIBLE! I mean honestly, it's on my top ten best watches. Beautifully done animation, the characters are all wonderful, and the storyline is EPIC. Only 11 eps long, so just go watch it. It's very underrated. **

**I kind of realize now that i didn't rly think this whole fanfiction through, and now im paying for it. I came up with the beginning and the end, but now i have 2 fill in the middle, you know? eheh, i do this every time -.-**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed so far, I'll b writing the next bit soon, so plz continue to love me and I will bask in your affection (as always haha). MWA!  
><strong>


	6. The Light of the Sun

Light of the Sun

He didn't remember when he had dropped off to sleep, but the next thing he knew, Natsu was being shaken awake by Gray, and the sound of loud screams registered in his mind. His eyes snapped open from where he lay slumped over Lucy's coffee table, and looked over toward the source of disturbance. Outside, Natsu saw that the sun was high in the sky, and the rainclouds from the day before had all but completely vanished from the sky.

"Natsu,-!" Levy shouted from Lucy's bedside. "Help me-!"

The blonde had wrenched herself up, her hands bloody from her own nails digging into her palms. She seemed to be trying to get away from something, something that was hurting or frightening her. But what she continued to shout was what sent chills down his spine as he assisted Levy in holding her down against her sheets. The desperate pleas for someone to kill her rang in his ears and froze his insides, clashing with the burns he was getting from gripping her shoulders. Levy had fallen backwards, blowing hard on her palms before Gray relieved her with his ice magic.

"Luce! Get a hold of yourself!" Natsu tried to calm her down, although it was a useless effort. She wasn't really there as the rest of them were. She couldn't hear them, and couldn't see them. Realizing this, Natsu released an angry snarl, directed at no one but meant only to give him the strength to ignore the uncomfortable heat that grew ever more painful the longer he held onto her.

"Let me go-!" She shouted hoarsely, shrugging away from the boy with such ferocity that he did release her and took a step back. "Don't touch me…You'll only hurt yourself-!" Her words were overpowered by another shrill shriek as she folded in on and wrapped her arms around herself. Out of the corner of his eye, Natsu saw Levy chanting a spell along the walls of the apartment; a spell that he supposed was meant to give the room some sound-proof quality so that no one would come knocking with regards to the noise level. He felt slight gratitude for her being there and able to help so much. However, there was nothing anyone, not even Levy, could do but watch as Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs for almost an entire hour, lying atop her duvet cover, until all her energy had been sapped from her again, and she was reduced to silent tears that coursed steadily down the sides of her face until she once again, fell asleep, her skin still scorching hot all over.

He stayed awake for the rest of the day and most of the night, watching over the celestial mage. He was tired though. For what reason, he wasn't sure. Stress, anxiety and nerves were all contributing factors it seemed, and all three of these tied into one subject: Lucy.

Unable to resist anymore, he allowed his head to rest on the edge of the mattress near her head. He easily gave himself up to the darkness, allowing the soft sound of Lucy's shallow breath and steady heartbeat to dull his senses as both so often did even while he was wide awake, and shut his eyes.

"Please get better…" He whispered. It was more of a prayer than a request at this point. The entire time she had been sick, Natsu had been useless. And he hated nothing more than being useless, especially if his friends and family were in need of help and support and he couldn't be the one to offer it to them. For the first time since meeting her, Natsu could do nothing to help Lucy. For the first time, he could not be the hero, but was forced to sit on the side-lines and let others handle her, or watch as they failed. That day, he discovered one of his worst nightmares would always be "to be helpless".

As he slept, he dreamed of a voice. The melody it sang was soft, slow, but most of all, sad. He understood nothing of the words that enveloped him in the dream, and it didn't seem to be anything used by the human tongue. Yet the vocals sounded so dreadfully familiar and nostalgic to his ears that he was sure it must be a language he knew…Somewhere deep down…he knew…

Natsu awoke so abruptly he forgot for a moment where he was until he lifted his head from Lucy's mattress, and promptly found that it was empty of its owner. Gray and Levy were both passed out under Lucy's kotatsu, the hum of the heated blanket filling the otherwise silent room. He stood up carefully, as he was stiff from his uncomfortable sleeping position. It was dawn outside, and the sun was just barely showing its rays beyond the horizon. It was from the window above Lucy's bed that he saw a familiar figure standing at the river-walk's edge, staring dead ahead at the presentation of a new day.

Without any hesitation, Natsu easily leapt out the window and landed smoothly on the pavement, a few feet behind where Lucy stood wrapped in a light pink bathrobe that came down to her ankles. Her feet were bare, and her hair was tied back into a messy, unkempt ponytail. Natsu immediately took note of the celestial mage's hands. Dried blood was plastered to her palms and coloured the ends of her nails like bright red polish that hadn't been spread on correctly.

Luce?" Natsu said when she didn't turn to look at him when he stepped up beside her. "Are you alright?"

She looked a lot better, despite the strange behaviour. Although her face was much too pale to be considered healthy and her eyes were weighed down by dark rings just below her lower lashes, there was not the slightest hint of a fever, nor any other signs of illness.

"Yeah, I'm fine…"

"Do you feel…uh, different at all?" He didn't really know how to word the question. Was Lucy a full-fledged dragon now or something? What did that fever even mean? Did it change her in any way? She was still his Lucy right? As if to make sure, he reached out and wrapped his fingers around her upper arm. The girl finally looked at him with her familiar brown eyes, her vision clear for the first time in two days. He felt a shot of relief when she smiled.

"Not really," She answered. "I just have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach…"

"Oh, I probably know what you're talking about." Natsu grinned. "Hungry, right?"

"That's not exactly what I meant…" She laughed anyway, and followed him inside for some breakfast, the thought of food clearly welcome to her, for she hadn't been in the right condition to eat much of anything.

Inside, Natsu shook Levy and Gray awake, sharing the exciting news of Lucy's return to health, even forcing a hug on his life-long rival in the midst of his happiness. Levy gently embraced the blonde girl, an excited, gleeful smile on her face that made Lucy feel both glad and guilty.

"You looked after me all this time…" Lucy addressed them all as she ate heartily from a bowl filled with an array of fruits and nuts, kindly prepared by Levy, a few minutes later. "Thank you so much…I'm sorry you had to do this for me… I know it must have been a lot of trouble…"

"You had us worried, alright." Gray said from one of the cushy chairs in Lucy's room. "Natsu was acting like you were going to die right there in your bed. He was a pathetic mess, let me tell ya."

"A-Anyway, it really is ok, Lu-chan." Levy intervened before the fire and ice mage could start a fight. "It all worked out in the end."

"Levy-chan, your hands are,-!" Lucy suddenly gasped at the bookworm's palms that she had been waving in front of her face in exaggerated hand gestures. "The skin is all blotchy…and red…"

"Oh, this? It's nothing." Levy closed her hands into fists and lowered them down to rest on her lap. "I got a bit carried away when I was trying to get you to lie still…Nothing to worry about though. Gray lent me his ice to keep the burns cool."

Ignoring the girl's babbling, Lucy placed her half-finished breakfast aside and got up to stand before Levy. She then proceeded to coax the blue-haired girl's fists open until the underside of her hands were laid out on the desk Levy was sitting at. Natsu and Gray had fallen silent and watched without interruption or movement as Lucy spread her hands over Levy's own burned ones. Everything was still, until Lucy's hands began to emit a warm, golden light that grew brighter with every passing second. Natsu and Gray staggered to their feet and backed off, shielding their eyes from the illumination that bathed the room in white.

Finally, after a few brief seconds that felt like hours to the fire mage, he was able to uncover his eyes and recover from the shock of magical energy that had engulfed him with Lucy's light. When his sight had adjusted again, he found that nothing was different, besides the looks of pure bafflement on Levy and Gray's part. He swallowed his astonishment and spoke before he lost his nerve.

"What the hell was that?"

In answer to his question, Levy held up her hands, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. Where there had been burn marks and angry red welts disfiguring the palms, there was now a new layer of scorch-free, good-as-new skin. Not a scar was left from her earlier heroic actions in protecting Lucy from herself. The celestial mage on the other hand was now breathing deeply, and her hands shook violently as she came down hard on her knees. When her three companions tried to help her, she waved them away, giving a reassuring smile as she got to her feet, only to sit back down as soon as she reached her bed.

It was then that Natsu finally understood.

"You…you can absorb other people's pain…That's your power…That was your mother's ability…" He recalled the story Izayoi told of her grandfather and his friends who were stranded in the mountains. How the mysterious dragon in human form had healed one of the sick travellers.

"Is that true?" Gray stared at the blonde with intense intrigue and disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Lu-chan, you didn't have to do that for me! You're the one who's been sick this whole time! I can handle a few burns on my own!" Levy clasped her healed hands together and her mouth turned down and her bottom lip trembling. The blonde shook her head.

"It was my fault that you were hurt though," Lucy stated simply. "And you've been watching over me with the others this entire time…If I can help one of my friends, I'll do what I can, you know that."

"Of course I do!" Levy said. "But for something so small…it's not worth it!"

"Sorry…" She suddenly apologized, and put a hand to Levy's cheek. "I just…it made me sad…to see you that way…"

"Aw, Lu-chan," Levy encircled Lucy in her arms and the two close friends hugged each other tightly. "Listen. Everything's ok now. Don't worry anymore, ok?"

"I'll go back to the guild and let everyone know that Lucy's ok." Gray volunteered, and headed for the front door, followed by Levy, who promised to return later with some energy drinks.

"Gray, thank you as well for sticking around," Lucy said before he could leave. "I owe-,"

"You don't owe me anything," Gray cut her off. "You're my friend, so of course I'd want to help out."

"We'll see you." Levy waved, and shut the door behind them, but not before giving Lucy a secret wink.

It was a surreal sort of feeling that then filled the celestial mage's head. She did not recall most of the past two days, and what she did remember was muted and made her dizzy if she thought too hard about it. She sat at the edge of her bed, picking at the bowl of food she had set aside, and pretended not to notice Natsu's obvious stare. She gave him a sarcastic look after a solid few minutes of awkward silence.

"I had no idea my face was so interesting to you," Lucy arched an eyebrow at her friend. "Or is there some other reason you're boring a hole in my head?"

"Sorry," Natsu looked away quickly, as though he hadn't realized he was looking so long at her. "It's just…it doesn't seem much like a power…"

"Healing is a power," Lucy insisted. "Wendy has the same gift."

"Yeah, but it's different…" Natsu said.

"How is it different?"

"Wendy can heal people's wounds with her dragon-slayer ability. But you…you take their pain and make it your own…It just…it sounds more like…"

"A curse." It wasn't a suggestion, but a statement. Natsu nodded. "Remember what Izayoi said when her grandfather met the Sun and Shadow dragon?" Lucy reminded him. "He had written that my mother was "a cursed creature that led a cursed life". I don't think he was exaggerating when he documented that moment."

Natsu swallowed hard. "I don't think you should use that power, Luce. I really don't."

"I know," The blonde replied, though she did not agree. "And I think I see why Izayoi's grandfather named my mother the "Sun and Shadow" dragon."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the sun is light," Lucy began to explain. "And from what we saw when I rectified Levy's hands, it's true to that part of the name, isn't it? The light of the sun…it was really warm."

"I guess…so what does the "Shadow" part of the name mean?" Natsu asked. Lucy shrugged.

"Well…a shadow…it normally stands for darkness…" Lucy deduced easily. "But I don't know…maybe there's more to it than that…" She suddenly thought of the woman who had tried to take her from her dead mother's bedside all those years ago, and the flames that had sprouted from her hands and extinguished the life of the adult she had known nothing about. "It could mean anything…"

As she bit into a slice of a green apple, the celestial mage tried to ignore the underlying feeling she had been harboring since waking up that morning. A feeling that something was amiss, a feeling that something was coming.

Something that would bring about a big change.

* * *

><p><strong>I've been thinking about how I originally wanted to end this sequel, and as I continue to read the manga and learn more about Lucy, I feel like you might be a bit disturbed by what I have planned...but I still want to end it that way, because of what this fanfiction is about. How far one will go for their family, and the consequences of a choice. Well, thats what I plan to go for anyway. <strong>

**I'm excited that I'm getting to the climax (finally) and I'm sry that this took so long. I lost my passion for a while there, and I started interpreting some doujinshi pages that I posted on deviantart, if you're interested at all in reading some InuYasha. my username is kagomegrl1407.**

**Hope you enjoyed this! I'll be back soon! ;)  
><strong>


	7. Blushes, Frosting, and Friends

Blushes, Frosting, and Friends

Lucy returned to the guild early the next day with Natsu right behind her. She was feeling and looking much better, as her cheeks had reverted back to their natural shade of pink, and her temperature held at a perfectly stable and average human heat. Natsu had practically force-fed her that morning, intent on keeping the blonde's strength and health up after such a long period of weakness. Following the forced nursing, Lucy spent the entire walk to the guild insisting that she felt perfectly well and not at all strange or sick, until she eventually put the boy's worries to rest.

When she opened the guild's doors, she was greeted by colourful explosions of confetti that burst from party poppers all around her.

"Welcome back, Lucy!" A simultaneous roar sounded from the Fairy Tail mages.

Lucy's gaze lingered over each and every happy face that made up her family, and she blushed and returned their bright, friendly grins with a teary-eyed smile of her own. It was then that she realized just how much she had missed them all, even though it had only been a few days that they had been apart from her.

"I'm back…" She said, before being engulfed by a rib-cracking hug from everyone at once, their laughter resonating in her ears and warming her heart. However, after a few seconds of soaking up the love, she managed to slip through a gap in the huddle of people that was quickly transforming into an all-out brawl. The celestial mage retreated to a safe distance away from the over-excited bunch, choosing a seat at Mirajane's bar, where the gorgeous, silver-haired beauty was wiping down a set of used beer mugs with her usual carefree expression and absent-minded smile lighting up her features.

"They do get carried away much too easily…" Her laughter tinkled lightly in the air, mingling with the lively war-cries that drowned out the pleasant sound fairy quickly.

"You got that right…" Lucy replied to the woman, watching as Natsu let loose a rally of furious punches and kicks in Gray's direction. "But I wouldn't have them any other way."

The guild partied for most of the day in Lucy's honour, and when Mirajane brought out a gargantuan frosted cake and set it down before the blonde, she was able to forget the mounting feeling of foreboding that had been sitting in the back of her mind since she had woken up the day before. Natsu and Levy sat on either side of her, laughing and joking as the cake was served up by the lovely bartender.

"You guys party way too much," Lucy giggled when the blue-haired bookworm hugged her around the neck in a playful gesture. "If it weren't for me, you'd have to come up with some other absurd idea to throw a celebration like this."

"No way!" Levy protested, ruffling her friend's hair. "We did all this because we love you! Besides, a party is never as much fun without absolutely everyone present."

"Exactly," Natsu inputted as he passed two servings of cake to the girls. "And you're pretty important."

"Oh, I'm so glad you think so." Lucy smirked at the boy before taking a bite of her "Welcome Back" dessert. "This is delicious!" She looked so pleasantly surprised that Levy couldn't help but burst out into a fit of giggles.

"Is this the first time you've had one of Mira's cakes?" She asked in astonishment.

"It is! I didn't know she could bake like this!"

"Well thank you very much." Mirajane suddenly appeared behind them, a pleased look in her eyes. "Oh, Levy, could you give a piece to Gajeel? He won't admit it, but I think he would like some."

The bookworm rolled her eyes, "Honestly, he's so silly. It's just cake, it's not like he's accepting a fluffy pink unicorn." But she left anyway when Mirajane pointed her to the dragon-slayer (who looked most uncomfortable standing alone by the mission bulletin board), a plate of cake in hand.

Lucy watched the girl skip over the man who made her look like a dwarf in comparison, and then turned to Natsu, who was gobbling down a second serving of dessert. He glanced at her when he felt her eyes on him, just as she returned her gaze to her own cake, taking another bite of it with pure bliss in her expression.

"Oy, Luce," He spoke up when he noticed a stray bit of frosting at the corner of her bottom lip. "You got something…"

"What?" The girl looked at him questioningly until he leaned in close and lifted a finger to scrape off the iced sugar that rested on her mouth. She held perfectly still as he gently brushed the side of her face with the tip of his finger. When he finally lowered his hand, Lucy felt her cheeks catch fire and her heart begin to hammer frantically against her chest when he didn't immediately pull away. She swallowed hard, finding herself able to mutter something along the lines of what she had said the other day, when he had looked at her in that very same way. "Is my face really that interesting to you?"

"I've always found your face interesting." He answered before he could stop himself.

Lucy blushed madly at that. She hadn't expected such a reply, and it took all the courage she had not to get up from her seat and run. Natsu didn't seem to have the same resolve she did to remain seated. She watched him leap up with an incredibly confused and embarrassed look in his eyes and an uncharacteristic red flush colouring both his ears and his entire face as he pointed a shaky finger in her general direction, the same finger he had used to remove the icing from her lips.

"I-I mean it's weird! Like you!" He yelled, before sprinting away, barrelling through the crowd of cake-eaters and beer-drinkers and leaving a stunned and bemused Lucy behind him.

"What's up with Natsu?" Gray asked as he took the abandoned seat beside the celestial mage, who laughed nervously.

"Who knows…?" was her mumbled reply. She too left the table then, to find a distraction that would calm her heartbeat and cool her burning face.

The sun was setting when the guild's members began to leave for the day. Levy hugged Lucy goodbye before leaving with Gajeel, who had taken to walking the bookworm home in the evenings. Erza nearly shook Lucy's hand, but was instead forced into a hug from the younger girl, an embrace that the red-head returned, albeit hesitantly at first. After all the farewells and see you tomorrows, only Lucy and Mirajane were left in the guild. She didn't know where Natsu had taken off to when he had run from her earlier during the party, and honestly, it was a bit of a relief that he hadn't stuck around; otherwise she wouldn't have known how to act around him.

"Are you heading out too, Lucy?" Mirajane asked the girl, who nodded in reply. "Well, be careful on your way back. Too bad Natsu isn't here, or he could have taken you home…"

"I'll be fine." Lucy held up her fingers in a peace sign. "Besides, Natsu isn't my bodyguard. I can take care of myself."

"I know, but he always has taken pride in looking out for you," Mirajane continued. "Where did he disappear to anyway?"

This conversation was taking an uncomfortable turn for Lucy, and she slowly began to make her way to the exit as she responded to the other woman's pondering. "No idea, but I'll keep an eye out on the way home. See ya, Mira!" And with that she took her leave, breathing a sigh of relief when the guild's doors shut behind her. "Geez…" She muttered while she stepped along the river-wall's edge, her arms stretched out in a balancing pose. "Natsu is the one who's weird, just making off like that…"

"Luce?"

Lucy let out a small _eep _of surprise when she noticed Natsu was walking right beside her on the sidewalk. She stumbled, but was steadied by Natsu's hand on her arm. "Thanks…" She said, regaining her poise and continuing her careful steps along the narrow ledge. She ignored the boy that walked close behind her, and took no note of the looks he was throwing in her direction every few minutes.

"The party was fun, huh?" Natsu tried to make conversation, but Lucy simply nodded and silence took over again. "Everyone's really happy that you're well again."

"I'm glad." She said shortly.

"You don't seem very "glad"." Natsu pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. Lucy sighed and paused, turning to look at the fire mage with a strange sort of smile on her face.

"I am, really." She said. "It's just…I'm scared, ok? I have this feeling…a feeling that won't go away, no matter how paranoid I know it to be."

"What kind of feeling?"

"A bad one…" Lucy explained simply. "It's hard to say in words. It feels like instinct…or a warning that some threat is about to appear. Sorry, I sound sort of crazy."

"Yeah, but that's nothing new," Natsu shrugged. "You're crazy all the time."

"Right…" Lucy half laughed at him.

"Well, whatever happens, we're all here for you Luce. So don't let this weird thing you're feeling bug you too much."

"Thanks." Lucy grinned at him. "By the way, where did you go when you, uh…left earlier?"

"Oh, I went fishing with Happy for a while." Natsu said unexpectedly. "He's been lonely without me, and I just thought…it'd be good to spend some quality time with him."

"Right-of course," Lucy said, hopping down from the wall and falling into step with her friend. "I was just asking. Mira was worried…"

"Yeah, sorry, I forgot to tell someone…"

"Could this atmosphere get any more nerve-wracking?" Lucy thought awkwardly as her apartment finally came into view. "Well, I'll see you…" She took a few steps forward, overtaking Natsu and turning back to face him when she reached the front of her apartment building. She waved.

"I'm sure Happy's missed you! Go home early and spend some more time with him!" She shouted to the boy, before hurrying inside.

"Yeah…ok." The fire mage answered, although there was no one to hear him.

Of course, Natsu hadn't actually gone fishing with the cat. He had really gone for a long, exhilarating run around Magnolia to clear his head. Too many things suddenly didn't make sense to him anymore. Why had he been acting so anxious and worried for Lucy all this time? Of course, she was an important part of his family, so he had every right to be that way, yet still, something nagged at his heart, whispering incessantly that this wasn't the total truth of the matter.

Normally, he could be affectionate and friendly with the celestial mage no problem, but lately, if he hugged her or even came into close contact with the girl, he felt tingly and high-strung inside. But that wasn't as bad as when she made him feel the complete opposite. On quieter days, when nothing much would happen and they were just hanging out, when there was just Lucy and no one else around to distract him, the dragon-slayer would become captivated by everything and anything she was and did. The colour of her eyes, the softness and texture of her hair, the sound of her laughter, even her scent seemed to overpower him. He would become weak in his knees, too relaxed, and his guard would fall to pieces. Before he was aware of this strange…attachment to her, Natsu had never hesitated to spend the night in Lucy's bed, simply because he liked being close to her, and he was fond of her smell. But now, everything just felt…different.

Others had also noticed changes as to how Natsu behaved around Lucy, even though he hadn't exactly detected a very drastic difference at first. Mirajane always dropped hinting lines concerning his relationship with the blonde, saying things like "You're so sweet with her", and "You and Lucy are probably the closest couple of friends I've ever seen". Even Gray had gone so far as to refer to Natsu as "Lucy's protector", before Natsu had punched him out because of the teasing, disrespectful tone in his voice.

"I'm not Lucy's protector…" Natsu said aloud as he walked alone in the growing darkness in the direction of his house. "I'm her…friend. Her friend!" Why should it be anything else? He brought her to Fairy Tail in the first place, so of course he felt a sense of responsibility for her. He wanted her to be happy, for her to feel safe and loved and appreciated. He wanted all these things for her that her father never gave her.

But who exactly did he want her to receive these feelings from? Not just himself, surely. He was completely willing to share her with his family. To an extent…

No, she was just as much theirs as his. It didn't matter how appealing her smile was to him, and it didn't matter how inviting and warm her arms were when she hugged him. She was his friend, dammit! Nothing else!

He pushed this entire "Lucy" matter aside without further investigation, shaking his head as if to completely remove her face from his mind's eye. He had told Happy before leaving the guild that afternoon that he would be home that night, and was genuinely happy to see the blue fur-ball that flew into his arms the moment he walked in the door.

"Natsu! I'm so glad you're back!" The blue Exceed nuzzled his face into his friend's neck.

"Me too." Natsu said. "Sorry I've been away from the house for so long…"

"It's ok! Lucy needed you with her, so I understand! Anyway, I got to stay with nearly everyone from the guild! Even Gajeel let me stay for a couple of nights! His house is really clean…"

"Really? We should break in sometime and have a look around." Natsu joked. "It would drive him crazy." Happy laughed.

"Lucy has new powers now, right? I heard she helped Levy with some hurts."

"Yeah but she's still the same Lucy."

"Oh, she's still weird through, right?"

"Yeah…" Natsu's expression softened slightly at the word. "Still weird ol' Luce."

* * *

><p><strong>Ello. Eheh, sorry bout the wait. I had the most killer writers block again. But I think everything will go relatively smoothly from here on in. I just didn't want crazy shit to happen in this chapter, otherwise it would just seem like too much too soon, you kno? (Yeah, this is about pacing...still need more practice...). <strong>

**I'm glad I wrote this chapter, it made me happy doing it. I think I rly enjoy exploring the emotions of the oblivious idiot types and what they feel when they don't realize that the feeling they are experiencing is LOVE.** **I hope you didn't mind this whole "trip through silly Natsu's mind" near the end of this update. He's still so ridiculous it pains me -.- **

**Some might have seen my blog and some might not have but either way, my mum's a bit sore about the fact that I don't write my own real fiction. I know she doesn't understand WHY i do this stuff, but it makes me happy to do it. Plus, I really believe it counts as practice for when I one day maybe decide to write for a living, you know?** **Practice, practice, practice. Even writing fanfictions pays off.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and I will update as soon as I can! :)**


	8. A Fairy's Godmother and Surrender

A Fairy's Godmother and a Peaceful Surrender

The next day came about stormy and grey. Lucy awoke with the same sinister premonition in her heart plus a strange twinge of disappointment when she didn't find Natsu curled up at the end of her bed like she had on so many mornings before. However, she did not dwell on this last fact for very long, as a series of knocks sounded on her door, forcing her to rub the sleep from her eyes and roll out of bed. Thinking it must be someone from Fairy Tail come to call, she pulled on a satin, light pink dressing gown over her flannel pyjamas before going to the door. It couldn't be Natsu or any of her teammates. They always used the window, whether she approved of it or not.

What she did not expect was her godmother, Lady Izayoi, to be standing on her front step, all out of breath and ready to collapse at any moment. Lucy opened the door wider and just managed to catch the woman as she stumbled across the threshold into the apartment.

"Lady Izayoi!" The young girl gasped, half-dragging the older woman inside and toward her couch. "W-What are you doing here-?"

"No time-!" Izayoi huffed out, ignoring the question and the offered seat. "Lucy, he's coming-!" The widow straightened up and took a step away from her god-child. "He'll be here no later than noon. Or rather, his envoy will be."

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked, although she was already getting a pretty good idea of who the distressed woman was referring to. "How do you know this?"

"I have my own set of spies where I need them. I was given a status report late last night of Judo's latest movements and plans. Child, we have to get you away from here. If he finds you-!"

"The guild! We have to get over there!" Lucy interrupted, throwing off her robe and exchanging her night-clothes for a short pink skirt and a soft white tank. She then clipped on her belt that was equipped with her collection of celestial keys, pulled on a pair of leather ankle boots, and was out the door in record time, pulling Izayoi insistently by the hand. "The master! He'll know what to do for sure!"

"Now's not the time, Lucy! We have to get you to safety!"

"I can't do that!" Lucy answered simply as they bolted down the street in the direction of the guild. "I already made a promise to myself!"

"What promise!"

"I won't run from him!" Lucy shouted, her breath coming out in short bursts as she sprinted hard down the cobbled street. "Not again! Not this time!"

When the pair finally came to a stop outside Fairy Tail, Lucy pushed open the heavy oak doors, her hair sticking out at strange angles (she hadn't had time to primp and preen herself that morning) and her face a sweaty mess. Most of the guild's members near jumped out of their skin at the sight of such a distressed Lucy.

"Master!" Lucy yelled, scanning the large room of onlookers for the short, elderly man until she spotted him lounging on the bar table, sipping from a large mug of beer. "Master, he's coming-! My father's-!"

"Ah, who is this?" Makarov immediately set down his drink, hopped down to the floor and approached Lucy and Izayoi, a lecherous grin plastered over his face. His gaze lingered over the widow's figure that was clad in a formal dress of black and blue. "What a vision! So lovely!"

"Now's not the time for the pervy comedy relief!" Lucy snapped. "Didn't you hear me? We're all in danger! Whoever my father is sending will be sure to come to the guild first!"

"What's going on here?" Erza stepped forward. "Lucy, who is this?" She regarded Izayoi with shrewd eyes.

"Everyone, this is Lady Izayoi…my godmother," Lucy introduced the woman hurriedly to the attentive crowd of wizards. "She came here to warn me-!"

"Judo Heartfilia has hired an independent mage." The widow explained. "His objective is simple. He has been ordered to do whatever it takes to return Lucy to her father. This is why it's necessary to get Lucy as far away from here as possible! With your leave, I will take her into hiding in a very secret location that I can promise will keep her concealed until the danger has either passed or been eliminated."

"No!" Lucy turned on her. "I already told you, I won't leave them here to fight for me!"

"Lucy, please-!"

"I've already made up my mind, and I will stay with my family and fight!" The girl's expression softened. "Please understand."

For a brief few seconds, Izayoi looked as though she was about to argue, but instead she sighed and, to Lucy's surprise, smiled. The widow then reached out and touched the celestial mage's cheek with gentle fingers that sent a wave of contentment through her body. Her crimson-coloured lips parted as she spoke again.

"You are…the spitting image of Layla," Her words were soft and nostalgic. "Not only physically but…you share the same passion for the people that are important to you. You have a need to protect." Lucy did not reply to this. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes," Lucy's voice was firm and decided as she laid her own hand over the hand Izayoi had rested on the side of her face. "They are all important to me. I want to do my best. I want to do everything in my power to shield my family from anything that threatens them."

"Lucy…" Although her eyes still remained unseen beneath her netted hat, it did not hide the tears that fell from them. "Your mother…how proud she would be if she saw you now. How proud she must be simply watching over you every day…I will stay with you as well, and protect what I consider precious."

"Lady Izayoi…" The blonde swallowed a lump in her throat. "Thank you for all you've done for me…But this doesn't have to be your fight. I'd honestly rather not drag you any farther into it."

"You never dragged me into anything." Izayoi said. "I've been in this from the very beginning. When I met your mother, I became involved. When you were born, I vowed to be a good role model. And I'm here now to stay by my family's side, just like you."

Lucy embraced her godmother then, throwing her arms around her neck and keeping her head nestled against the older woman's shoulder, not daring to open her eyes for fear of the tears that would surely spill.

"Well, then we're all in agreement." Makarov spoke up, looking about at his children with a steeled, confident look in his face. "The plan is simple. Like last time, we will stand our ground. We will not be beaten."

The next hour was a blur of attack strategies and spoken thoughts of who would be coming to start a fight with the entire guild. During this time, Izayoi looked worried, but Lucy did not see a reason why she shouldn't be. It wasn't until the older woman pulled her aside that she finally received full understanding of her anxiety.

"Listen to me," Izayoi spoke in a low, nervous voice. "Before hell breaks loose, I want your word that you will not, under any circumstances, surrender yourself to your father's men."

"Why would I do that?" The blonde looked confused by the request.

"Please, just promise me you won't."

Lucy swallowed, finding the words hard to answer to. If she had no other choice and a friend was in danger of being killed, of course she would give herself up to her father. It wasn't something she could swear not to ever do.

"Lucy!" The widow hissed desperately, her lips trembling as she looked at her silent goddaughter.

"Alright," Lucy managed a small smile, wearing it as convincingly as possible. "You have my word…"

No sooner had she spoken these words, the front doors of the guild burst open, and a loud, booming voice echoed off the walls of the building, yet no one was there to claim ownership to it. The voice was raspy and intimidating to Lucy's ears, but she kept her expression void of any sort of panic. What sort of person had her father even hired anyway?

"Give the Heartfilia girl to me…" The man's voice came from everywhere and nowhere. It was in their heads and the air around them. Lucy shut her eyes, listening to the bellowing, angry responses of her friends. Their shouting was heard by the holder of the voice, and he replied. "If you resist, I will have no choice but to take her by force…"

"Come and try then!" The girl heard Natsu yell out challengingly. "There's no way you're taking her!"

"This is your last warning…" The deep, crackling voice was harsher, almost angry. "If you do not obey, one may lose their life…"

"Like I said, BRING IT!" Natsu cracked his knuckles, readying himself for a battle.

There were no other cautionary words from the bodiless voice. Instead, a blast of wind erupted over their heads, a gale so violent it ripped the very roof from the guild's building. Lucy heard herself scream as well as many of the others as she ducked for cover with Izayoi under one of the many tables. Her hair whipped about her face with the blustering blasts of air, and she desperately made to grab one of her celestial keys. Her first thought was Taurus. He was sturdy enough to handle this attack. Before Izayoi could keep her down and out of sight, Lucy rolled out from under the table and dashed forward, flourishing the golden key in her hand. After calling upon the mighty bull, Lucy and the spirit ran to stand amongst her friends, who were all looking around for the enemy, their eyes squinting against the intense storm of wind. It wasn't until she heard Levy's startled shriek and the unsheathing of a sword that she turned to find a man donning a heavy black trench-coat and holding a sharp, steel blade against the bookworm's throat. Everyone was quiet, and the treacherous wind that had beaten so deafeningly against them now faded to nothing.

"It's funny, isn't it?" This man bore the voice that had echoed within their guild only seconds before. The hood to his coat was pulled low over his face, but that did not conceal his malevolent, twisted grin that sent shivers up Lucy's spine. "How simple it really is to get what one wants. All you really have to do is threaten whatever it is your prey holds dearest to them." The knife was pushed harder into the blue-haired girl's soft, vulnerable skin. Even from the other side of the room, Lucy could see the tears forming in her friend's eyes.

"Let her go!" Mirajane screamed. "Or I'll-!"

"What?" He drew blood from Levy's neck, and she cried out in terror. "What can you do? Please, enlighten me. You all speak of fighting whatever gets in your way, but how far can you really go? How much are you prepared to lose for my capture or demise? What is the PRICE you are willing to pay?"

"Take me instead." Gajeel spoke up, surprising them all with his confrontation. "I'll pay that price for hers." He pointed at Levy, his expression stone and unreadable, while the captured girl looked at the dragon-slayer with wide eyes that displayed a mixture of confusing emotions.

"Intriguing offer, but I'm afraid I am only accepting a trade with one individual in particular today…" The threatening man's dialogue gave Lucy the impression of a snake, a cold, underhanded snake. Even as he called to her, she expected to see a forked tongue flick in and out between his thin, wicked lips. "Oh, Lady Heartfilia, come out, come out! I don't suppose you would mind if I disposed of your little friend here? I admit it would be such a shame. She is quite a pretty little thing."

"Leave her!" Lucy heard herself shout when the assaulter leaned in and licked the side of Levy's cheek. The heiress pushed to the front of the crowd, Taurus right behind her before she unexpectedly shut the spirit gate, sending him back from whence he came. "I'm right here."

"Ah, so will you come quietly then?" The snake asked. "How boring…but if that's how it is, who am I to pick a fight? Come along my dear, your father is waiting…"

"What does my father even want with me?" Lucy stalled for time, frantically trying to come up with a plan to get Levy safely away but coming up blank. "He has his place at the company back, what use am I to him?"

"I am not told the reasons behind my missions, my lady. I do not question orders if my pockets are filled with gold."

"But surely you must have an idea or something-!" Lucy kept her voice under control so she would not sound shrill or unnatural. "What value do I have in his eyes? What will he have me do if I go back to the Heartfilia estate?"

"I imagine he must have some engagement or other in order for you. However, I am out of patience, so I suggest you make a decision quickly. My hand is getting tired…" The blade reflected the sunlight that now came unbidden through the missing ceiling, blending the natural glow with Levy's blood that stained the silver edge.

Lucy was suddenly seized by an insane, burning desire that festered like an angry beast in the pit of her stomach. A desire for what, she wasn't quite sure of, and she found that she felt no fear when she stepped forward, breaking away from the members of her family, ignoring their protests and thinking only of the fire that was spreading through her body.

"Lucy." A hand grabbed her wrist, and she turned her head to Natsu.

He was going to hold her back. He was going to tell her not to leave them, not to leave him. But when he looked into her eyes and saw the burning flames that now scorched her rich brown irises, something changed and his voice seemed to fail him. All he could do was shake his head, praying his own desperate plea could be seen in his face.

Lucy smiled, and his heart dropped to his stomach at her words. "It's ok, Natsu." And she meant it. In fact, she almost wanted to go. Still, she had to literally wrench her hand away from the boy, who now looked nauseous as the feeling of uselessness began to overcome him. Lucy's gaze passed over Izayoi, who looked as though she was forcing herself to stand, rooted to the spot. The widow would not look at her goddaughter as she spoke up. "I'm not surrendering, you know. I'm going to face the problem. That way, something like this won't happen again. I know you'll understand."

She stopped before the hired mage who kept Levy under his sharp weapon. Without a word, Lucy removed her belt of celestial keys, and dropped her coiled whip. With a discreet hand motion that only the blonde was sure she saw, a pair of iron cuffs latched on to one of her wrists, the other locking around the man's arm. Only then did he push his hostage roughly away, sticking his knife into an inside pocket of his trench-coat and then wrapped one of his free arms around his new captive's waist.

"You should have realized by now," The hooded figure hissed to the room of onlookers. "Your family will always be your greatest weakness." The handcuffs binding him to Lucy clinked tauntingly in the air before another gust of wind kicked up, so strong it brought the guild's members to their knees. Lucy looked on at her family, but did not allow herself to see them as she was lifted into the air by an invisible force. Before she disappeared, she locked her eyes onto Natsu's keeled over form a few feet away and her eyelids fluttered closed. She mouthed his name, then the name of Fairy Tail and reopened her eyes again to see every mage raise their heads to find her eyes. In an almost intoxicated manner, she stretched out a hand to the guild that had been her everything since Natsu brought her there.

"I'm not afraid." She whispered, before her family and friends disappeared into a dark void, while she was swept away by a gale that shrieked murderously in her ears, as though a million people were being tortured and killed in her head.

She realized then that she was never going to fight this war alongside the rest of Fairy Tail like she wanted to. It was an irrational, idealistic dream to have believed such a thing. What she was doing, she would have to do alone. It was her who would put an end this, one way or another.

The burning in her veins told her so.

* * *

><p><strong>Eh...I hope that was ok. I thought maybe it would turn out more epic than how I wrote it...Its more epic in my head (but isn't that always how it is haha). <strong>**I hate writing original bad guys. Its always such a hassle, so I made it as vague but believable as possible...Hopefully it wasn't too ridiculous. **

**Lucy seems to be fighting a war within herself as well as with her father. There's this weird darkness inside of her that's going to start showing up a bit more. I'm kind of excited about it becuz I love writing about the more sinister sides of characters. Anyone watch FT episode 109? I fangirled all over the couch. It was so wonderfully animated. I LOVED it absolutely! I rly think that maybe Natsu felt a bit of something 4 her in this part of the arc. It just seemed a bit...idk, personal to him when she was getting beaten up and stuff (it reminded me a lot of Hinata when she tried to save Naruto from Pein, even the choreography felt similar to me).**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Expect more soon! Id say we're a little more than halfway done with this fic! :D  
><strong>


	9. Shadows in Houses and Hearts

Shadows in Houses and Hearts

The darkness that had enveloped Lucy in a screaming hell lasted only a brief moment, for when the girl next opened her eyes, she was standing in a massive entrance hall that she immediately recognized, with a hostile twinge in her heart, to belong to her father's mansion and her former home. She vaguely registered that the handcuffs that had bound her to her captor had dissolved into the air. Disoriented from the abrupt transport from the guild to the Heartfilia estate, she was guided easily up a series of stairs that lead to the second floor, and then through a labyrinth of dark, lonely corridors that rang bells all too clearly in her memory. At the end of a particularly shadow-strewn hallway, both Lucy and the hired mage came to a stop before a door that bore an iron plaque upon it with the inked in title "Chairman Heartfilia". With two courteous knocks upon the door, Lucy was then grabbed by the back of her tank top and thrown unceremoniously forward when the door was opened.

Lucy lost her balance once over the threshold from the sudden shove and fell face-first onto the carpeted floor of her father's office, bruising the bridge of her nose in the process. She stood up, rubbing the centre of her face while trying to look as dignified as possible while she regarded the man she could never truly see as her father sitting in a large, cushioned armchair behind his desk. She paid no mind when he gave a sarcastic "Welcome home", and stood with her arms crossed and her head held high. When he did not say anything more, Lucy's curiosity got the better of her.

"What is it you want?" She asked, making her voice sound bored and impassive, quite the opposite of how she truly felt. "To carry out such a huge operation to get me back, it must have something to do with money, correct?"

"Why else would I need you here?" His voice was deep and resonant in the icy atmosphere that had quickly descended on the room. "I'm glad you did not resist coming today. I'd rather not have tasks such as this end…unpleasantly. It's a hassle to deal with."

"And here I thought you had decided to turn over a new leaf," Lucy shot him a look crossed with disappointment and plain dislike. "Has that all changed now that you have everything and everyone back in the palm of your hand?"

"But I am "turning over a new leaf," Judo allowed an ominous sneer to curve the edge of his mouth. "I'm starting over, beginning anew. I am going to make my company the wealthiest it's ever been, invincible even. This corporation will be written in books as the most influential business in history. I will make sure of that."

"How do I come into all of this?" The blonde swallowed a lump in her throat. She would never admit it, but at the time, she had truly believed in his words when he had told her that he would try making an honest living. "Why do you need me?"

"You will be wed to the son of my future business partner. With this marriage, the contract I have formed with their company will be official and complete." Her father replied, shuffling through a stack of papers, his attention diverted just long enough to jump back in surprise when Lucy slammed her palms down on his desk. Her eyes alight with fury.

"As if I would allow you to use me as one of your-your pawns!" She spat in his face. "As if I would ever consent to this!"

"You will do as I've told you! You are my daughter, you belong to me! I'm not looking for your consent!" Lucy refused to flinch from the shaking finger he poised mere centimetres from her face. "You will be confined to your room until the night of your wedding. One week." He looked past her to the hired mage who had until then stood immobile by the door, a mere shadow awaiting further instructions. He gave a curt nod, and Lucy was taken again by the arm and forced away, back to the door. "Oh, and Lucy," He added. "If you truly care for the well-being of that guild of yours, I would advise you to act accordingly. Be a good little girl and follow orders."

Again, the girl was taken out into the hallway and dragged along until she was thrust once more through another door, this one leading to her old bedroom. The man locked her in, proving to Lucy that her father was taking no chances.

She lost herself, falling into fit of pure rage. Without a thought as to who may be in hearing distance, Lucy threw herself against her door, pounding repeatedly on the thick barrier, screaming incoherently in the dark room. She shouted and cried pressing herself against the blocked exit until she eventually crumpled to her hands and knees, her head hanging down in exhausted defeat. Blonde clumps of hair flopped over her shoulders, shielding her face from both sides. As she knelt on the cold, hard floor that matched the rest of the house and its master, she began to whisper to herself the truths of her existence, what her heart knew and what her mind had been trying to accept for weeks. She would repeat these words repeatedly during the coming time spent in her prison. And she would dream of her family in Fairy Tail every night, of Natsu's smile, Levy's laugh, and the warm happiness that would fill her when she was around them all.

"I am the blood of Syriah, descendant and heir of shadow and sun, harbinger of life and death. I do not fear what I know cannot harm me. I am the daughter of Layla. I am a mage and protector of Fairy Tail."

She was not afraid. There was no need to be, for she was protected not only by the blood of a great and a powerful dragon, but by the spirit of her mother.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean we should do nothing?"<p>

Once Lucy had fallen into the hands of her father and vanished before their eyes, the guild had reacted with panicked chaos. However, the angry rioting, yells and snarls were immediately silenced by Makarov's magnified voice that reverberated throughout the building. The elder then proceeded to explain how they would respond to Lucy's capture. What Natsu had not anticipated was that the guild-master planned to do nothing at all.

"I mean exactly that, Natsu." He replied to the boy who had immediately objected. "I don't know what, but Lucy has a plan."

"A plan,-?" Natsu snapped. "She didn't want Levy to get hurt because of her, that's why she left with that guy! There is no plan!"

"Natsu,-!" The master shouted over him. "I understand how you feel, truly I do. But you need to find it in you to trust me when I say that she did not go to her father blindly. I know you know it too."

"And how did you know that?" Natsu hissed bitterly at the old man.

Makarov paused, as though wondering if he should continue. "You let her go." He finally said, watching Natsu's expression change to a look more uncomfortable than angry. "If you really believed she just wanted to save Levy, you would have held onto her like your life depended on it."

"Shut up-!" The fire mage said in a low, dangerous voice. It was wrong. What the old geezer was saying was wrong. If it were true, it would mean that-

"But you trusted her. Now grow up and respect her wishes. Stay out of this."

Natsu fled the guild in a blind fury. Makarov did not seem troubled by this, and smoked the pipe he always used during times of great stress or peril. It kept his nerves in check. Erza addressed him next, asking if someone should go after Natsu. He shook his head. "Leave him." was all he had to say on the subject. "He'll come around. He just needs some time to adjust to the situation."

"Master, I understand you when you say to trust her…but what if something does go wrong?" Erza asked. "There's just…something strange about Lucy. I can feel it…Until now I've put it down as paranoia…but…"

"She's still Lucy of Fairy Tail," Makarov spoke. "She's still our Lucy".

"I know…but the blood of her mother…it's been dormant all this time, waiting to be reawakened. Isn't that reason enough to keep a close eye on any new developments in her behaviour?"

"Even so," The elder said. "It's too late to entertain these kinds of doubts."

"How long do you propose we sit here and do nothing then?" Erza asked, a bit of harshness creeping into her tone. The master sighed.

"Give her a week. If we have not heard from Lucy by then, we will send a team to carry out an operation, but only to gather information on her progress, nothing more."

Erza argued no further with her superior, and left the guild to gather her thoughts, hoping to herself that Natsu wouldn't disobey Makarov's orders and just stay put for once. He would be of little help if he did not cool his head and listen to the guild-master's words. He could not play the reckless child forever if he wanted to become stronger both inside and out.

Natsu didn't know where he was going, nor did he bother to think about it. What was that old fool thinking, leaving Lucy all alone while they sat safe and sound, away from any imminent danger? Didn't he care about her? What the hell did that ancient codger mean, talking like he knew what the flame-wizard felt before his Lucy was taken? He had talked as though he knew something the dragon-slayer didn't.

…_you would have held onto her like your life depended on it…_

"Feh! What do you know?" Natsu muttered darkly to himself. "Talking like you're the wisest guy on the planet or something…"

He came to a stop in front of a familiar apartment complex. The same building that housed Lucy in one of the many rooms facing out toward the river that ran through Magnolia. From where he stood, he could easily see inside her window, and he recalled all the times during the night that he would creep in and hide under her blankets, breathing in her soft, flowery scent until she came home from an evening out on the town or grocery shopping. If he did that now, would he be sad? No, he was already sad, so would he become sadder still, knowing she wasn't going to come home, throw back her duvet and shout empty threats in his ear? Of course, but it's only natural. She was his friend, it was expected that he would miss her absence from his life. And what a big part of his life she had turned into since becoming part of Fairy Tail. They had spent nearly every day in each other's company, even more so since Natsu had always insisted on barging into her apartment unannounced.

"Was your guild-master right?" A voice interrupted his brooding.

"Well, I'm not sure, it's sort of complica-Lady Izayoi!" Natsu jumped, realizing Lucy's godmother had followed after him. "W-What is it?"

"You didn't answer my question," The woman placed a hand on her hip, her face directed pointedly at the boy, who looked terribly awkward as he rocked back on his heels, his eyes darting all over in a nervous sort of habit. "Would you have held onto her if you thought she was giving herself up in exchange for her friend's life?"

"I-I dunno…" Natsu stammered. "This situation was…I don't have any way of knowing what I would have done…"

"Why not?" Izayoi asked. "It's you we're talking about, so tell me, what would you have done?"

"I'm not in the mood for this…" Natsu mumbled under his breath, and started walking back the way he had come, but Izayoi followed close behind. "It doesn't matter, Lucy's gone."

"I realize that," A smile played on the edge of crimson lips. "But I'm curious."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I really don't have an answer." Natsu's voice was monotone and his eyes stared straight ahead down the cobbled lane that led to his and Happy's house.

"Yes you do," Izayoi called him out. "You just don't want to face it."

"Why is this so hard for you to understand?" Natsu rounded on the widow, his expression impatient and his fists held tight by his sides. "If I were to say, "Yes, I would let her go", it would suggest that Lucy is just like the rest of my family in Fairy Tail, even though I always thought she was weirdly different from them! If I said "No, I would hold onto her and try to figure out another way of getting Levy out of harm's way", it suggests that Lucy is more important to me than everyone else, and that's not how it should be, because she's my partner and my friend! It doesn't make any sense to feel like she means more to me than the others! So no, I can't answer your question!"

"But you have answered my question." Izayoi said unexpectedly. Natsu shot her a strange look, before shrugging off the comment and turning his face away to stare down at the pathway stretched out beneath a line of illuminated streetlights. He was slightly surprised that evening had already come and gone since he had retreated from the guild. Anxious, unanswerable questions plagued Natsu's thoughts as he watched his exhaled breaths puff out in the cold night air. What was Lucy doing? What was she thinking? Who was she with? Was she ok?

Izayoi caught him off guard when her hand shot out and grabbed him by the chin, forcing him to look at her. He was so shocked he remained motionless and listened to the widow's words with his eyes opened wide.

"You are such a fool…" She nearly whispered. "A young, ignorant fool…But you won't always be. You will grow to be a man soon, capable of knowing what you feel. You won't be this helpless and clueless forever. When that day comes, you will know what to do. Soichirou…my husband was just like you before we married…Always keeping everyone close, but at the same time at a distance. Everyone was the same in his eyes and heart. There were no "special" people in his life…He was a child, always playing around, never being serious. He had friends, but no best friends, a house, but not a home, women, but not girlfriends. Until he and I met…he really had nothing."

Natsu finally pulled away from the woman, his insides roiling and twisting ever more painfully. Despite that, he did not look away from her.

"Do you know what Lucy's father has planned?" He asked, noticing how dry his voice sounded to him.

"It's an educated guess…I don't know the details but he must be using her for the rise of his company."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It could mean a lot of things. He could be using her to soften up a director or high-ranking official. Could be that he plots to sell her."

"Sell her-!"

"Money is his life. He will do anything to protect or add to it."

"But if that's the case then what could Lucy have planned?"

"I have a hunch…but it's not a pleasant one…"

"Tell me."

Izayoi seemed hesitant. She knew that anything she may say, Natsu would take to heart. For this reason, she did not want to alarm him any more than she already had. However, he would be the biggest benefactor if a rescue mission was arranged. "You recall what Lucy said to us before leaving with that hired mage, yes?" Natsu nodded, listening intently, his legs fidgeting nervously as he hung onto every word Izayoi spoke. "I believe Lucy had a very literal meaning to her reason for going back to the Heartfilia estate."

"To face her father, right?" Natsu said. "She did that before, when he first tried to take her back."

"That was before…" She paused again, and Natsu felt his impatience spike to an all-time high.

"Before WHAT?" He startled himself with the hysterical note in his voice.

"Before she knew about her mother," Izayoi finished. "Before she knew that her father lied to her for so long, that he would never grant her truth of her birth, and would never love her. Natsu,-!" Izayoi's voice matched Natsu's previous frenzied tone. "I think Lucy plans on-!"

"Stop it,-!" Natsu drowned out the widow's last words. "She wouldn't-! She's Lucy, dammit! She's…she's…"

Izayoi crossed and uncrossed her arms, almost as high-strung as Natsu was at that moment. Instead of continuing with the sharp turn in conversation, she instead said, "In any case, I suggest you listen to what Master Makarov instructed. Heed his will, Natsu. He is just as frightened about all this as you are, maybe even more so since he has no control over any of the current situation. But he's older, and wiser. He knows what must be done."

Natsu nodded, thought he was could not say that he agreed completely with the "waiting" plan. Izayoi seemed to sense this, and placed her hand on his head in a consoling gesture.

"One week. In seven days your guild-master will send out a team to check up on her. So until then, lay low and just find patience." She smirked. "In a way, this is a good lesson for you."

"A lesson, huh?" Natsu muttered aloud once the widow had left him in the direction of the nearest motel. He flexed his fingers, calming the jitters that tingled through both his hands, as though electricity was being channelled through his bloodstream. "Lucy would get a kick if she knew I was learning to be patient…"

* * *

><p><strong>Eh...I thought this would b a bit more exciting 2 write...but it was a bit of a chore. Oh well, maybe next chapter will b better? I rly want to try writing a song-fic sometime soon, but I dont want it 2 b cheezy you kno? Im pretty pathetic at writing one-shots tho, so I figured a song-fic might b good practice cuz its not supposed 2 b chaptered. <strong>

**I keep brooding about how I'm ending this fanfiction. I still feel like its sort of horrible (like in a terrible-omg-how-could-I-write-this-kind of thing).** **Oh well, I'll deal with it somehow. **

**Thoughts on this chapter...Well I didn't rly plan on Izayoi being such a big part of this series. I wondered for a while if I should just make her fade-out, but she just seems kind of essential to the storyline, even if she doesn't do much (i try 2 make her say profound, mysterious sort of things that'll maybe keep u guys thinking about Lucy/dragons/her mother/etc). I hope the whole OC thing doesn't like...throw ppl off. I know I get a bit bitchy myself if there's an OC in a fanfic I'm trying 2 read. The fact there r still readers even though there IS an OC makes me so ridiculously happy.**

**Anyway, I will b sure to try and update this soon (even though the holidays r here and its kind of stressful at the moment XD **

**Thanks for all the patience and support! Love you and Merry Xmas! Mwa!**


	10. Fireplaces and a Coincidence

Fireplaces and Coincidences

The first day in the Heartfilia mansion was the longest. In fact, it was nearly brutal. Lucy spent most of that morning lying listlessly in her bed, her mind strangely blank as she stared up at the ceiling, only getting up to barely eat a supervised, lonely breakfast in the Heartfilia's empty dining room. She nearly laughed at the bitter nostalgia when the servants swept away her half-eaten bowl of cereal and led her back to her bedroom, as though she were just a mindless child.

All that her father seemed to trust her with was a pencil and a stack of blank paper that had been left in her chest of drawers from when she had first run away from home. But that was good enough to pass the time, so she spun stories of her most recent adventures with her teammates, wrote letters to her mother, and even put together some sketches of her friends at Fairy Tail.

"I wonder what you guys are doing…" Lucy said aloud as she shaded in a pair of pupils that belonged to Natsu. Since meeting the fire mage, she had always been under the impression that his eyes were coal-black, but during a potentially embarrassing moment at her welcome-back party, she had noticed that they were in fact the darkest of browns. "What am I doing is the better question…" Really, what did she think she could accomplish, jumping right into such a trap? Obviously she couldn't get married, but she couldn't just retreat from the estate either, her father would expect that, and she was positive he had a plan if she tried to make an escape. "There has to be some way out of this…" She muttered, resting her head on her paper-strewn desk.

A maid showed up at Lucy's door around noon, using a key to open it a crack and stick her head inside to ask if she could be of service. The blonde asked for the fire-place to be lit, complaining of a chill, and the servant was quick to kindle a flame in the hearth and take her leave, bowing politely before barring the door behind her. The girl stood up and began to pace the perimeter of her room, her pencil poised between two fingers as she tapped the rubber-end against her chin in a thoughtful manner.

She paused in front of the fire when something struck her, something deep inside that hissed in her head, announcing its presence. Her dark eyes widened as she brought her hands up to her ears, knowing if she looked around, there would be no one there to claim the voice as theirs.

"Maybe you just don't ever go far enough…?" The dark entity whispered to her. "Maybe it's time you really did something. Something irreversible, something that will never be forgotten by him or anyone else associated with the Heartfilia Company…"

Lucy shakily grabbed some paper from her table so she could sit by the comforting fire that reminded her of Natsu's warmth, trying to ignore the strangely enticing voice, but stumbled slightly in the dimly lit room, feeling a single sheet slide from her fingers. The girl watched as it instantly caught fire once landing in the midst of her hearth, the edges turning to a crispy brown that curled inwards and proceeded to break up into tiny bits. She looked on, her expression calm and calculative, even after the blank page had been completely eaten away, the blaze continuing to reflect brightly in her eyes that sparked with the crackling glow before her.

"Do it…" The voice continued in an alluring tone. "The problems…the threats…all of your ties to him and this house could be cut away…You could go home…to your real family…"

"But it's wrong…" Lucy heard herself argue aloud. "I shouldn't…"

"But you can," The voice replied. "And you know it…"

Lucy watched the last of the fire die in its grate hours later; just as the sun was finally setting outside her window. She sat motionless on the edge of her bed, detached thoughts endlessly swimming about in her mind. She was well aware that she could not turn astray from the perilous path she now walked. Her father had made his choice, and now she had made hers, but in reality, both decisions made her sick to her stomach, and her heart ached for a peace that would not come. It was pointless to think that Judo would change his mind if she asked. In the end, she could always leave, but he would always bring her back, and he always got what he wanted. If this went on much longer, her Fairy Tail would be at serious risk because of her.

She became aware of how cold she felt then, how deep the feeling of ice reached into her body, swallowing her heart whole. The consequences of this plot was a heavy price to pay, however, she still knew it must be done. She had known the moment she had set foot in Judo's office, when he faced her with that familiar cold stare she now hated more than ever before in her life.

She would be the one to end all of this. End the Heartfilia Company. End him.

* * *

><p>"Lady Heartfilia."<p>

The blonde's eyes fluttered open, and she pushed herself up from where she had passed out still fully-clothed on top of her duvet. She squinted at the maid that had shaken her awake and was now bustling about, broom and dustpan in hand. The unfamiliar woman turned briefly in Lucy's direction, but was careful to avoid direct eye-contact as she pointed toward the bathroom that connected through a neighbouring door, simply saying, "The bath has been prepared, so please go ahead and use it." Lucy did so without complaint, although she was curious as to what the rush was about all of a sudden.

While the weary celestial mage shrugged out of her clothes, and eased her body into the tub, she tried to remember when she had fallen asleep, recounting every thought that had entered her mind the night before, the voice that had whispered to her softly, almost kindly, in her ear, and the promise she had made to herself and the fiery flames in her hearth. She emitted a heavy sigh as her muscles relaxed in the steaming water, sinking down until only the top half of her head was visible. Her curiosity resulted in a very short time spent soaking, and within twenty minutes she was toweling off and brushing out her dripping wet hair in front of the bathroom mirror. She reentered her bedroom, finding that two maids waited for her, their expressions vacant as one ushered her forward so they could dress the heiress. That was where she drew the line, so Lucy told the women, in the politest of tones, that she could get ready without their assistance. They took their leave, albeit a bit hesitantly at first, but were respectful enough with their lady's request.

Once left to herself, Lucy look over at the clothes that had been selected for her to wear that day. Black lace had been embroidered into elegant patterns over a dusty pink formal dress laid across her bedspread, along with an intricately designed silver bracelet, and a hair net that felt as though it were made of silk. A pair of dainty flats that bore tiny gems on the toes had been placed neatly on the floor near her door.

"Fine...I'll play your game for now," Lucy thought as she pulled on the gown and trinkets, gathered her hair up on the top of her her head, and eventually slipped into the shoes that crammed her toes tight together. "But it will not be forever."

She was not guided to her father's office like she assumed she would be, but was taken to the dining hall, where a lavish breakfast was being set on the table that stretched nearly the full length of the room itself. Her father was seated at the head, and did not acknowledge her presence until she was seated on his right and was being served a glass of water.

"Today you will be meeting your future marital partner. His name is Masamune. Kaito Masamune. " Judo spoke, not bothering to make eye-contact with his daughter, who looked anywhere but at the older man. "You are to be silent unless spoken to, and should you have the idea to be sarcastic or crude, remember that anything you say could cost one of your friends their lives." Lucy bit her tongue, afraid that if she opened her mouth, her anger would win over her better senses and she would say something she would immediately regret, so they waited in silence for the butler to announce their guest's arrival. Fortunately, they did not have to wait long, and the man that would be Lucy's fiance soon followed the elderly employee into the dining room, where both Judo and the blonde girl rose to their feet to greet him.

Once the young man had raised his head from a low, respectful bow, Lucy felt her stomach flip and her breath catch in her throat. The name had sounded familiar to her when her father had spoken it, but she never would have thought...

"You!" Lucy spoke before she could stop herself. "I know you-!"

"Lady Heartfilia," The man called Kaito smiled, and approached, taking her hand to brush his lips briefly against her knuckles. "Truly, an honour to see you again."

"Again?" Her father barely managed to mask the obvious surprise in his voice. "You two have met before then?"

"On my last mission..." Lucy explained vaguely, hoping he wouldn't ask for a detailed explanation. "Kai-I mean, I had the pleasure of meeting this gentleman in Balsam." She remembered him well from their first encounter. He was the only one she had danced with that night (besides Natsu, but that had been more of a lesson than a waltz), and before she had taken her leave, they shared a few words of farewell, and he was sure to send her off with a wish of luck and a strange warning.

"She showed me quite a good time." Kaito added, his startling green eyes switching from the Heartfilia company's head over to Lucy. "Your daughter is quite a talented dancer."

"Er-yes..." Judo coughed, all serious business in his posture and somber expression. "Well, I suppose introductions aren't in order then. Please sit, sir, we have much to discuss. Help yourself to some tea or breakfast. Have you eaten?"

"I have actually," As he sat across from Lucy and to the left of her father, something in the arch of the young man's mouth resembled more of a smirk than a genuine smile. "but thank you for the offer."

Lucy didn't pay very close attention to the conversation that followed. From what she gathered, before she completely tuned out the discussion, this meeting had to do with the details concerning the marriage that would take place in five days. Occasionally, Kaito would ask her opinion on a trivial subject, such as the colour of the flowers or tablecloths, and she would feign interest and agree with whatever they thought would be best. The guest list consisted of nearly five hundred, all important contributors and benefactors to the Heartfilia Corporation. As her father droned on about seating arrangements, Lucy thought of her family, the guild that she missed more than she could bear, and this all-too coincidental meeting with Kaito Masamune.

"Is that all?" The young man asked two hours later, just as Lucy was beginning to feel quite fidgety in her hard-backed chair. Judo filed through a few more papers, reaching for his glass that had been filled with a deep, burgundy shade of wine, setting aside the pages and nodding wordlessly. "In that case, would it be alright with you if I asked your daughter to show me around your grounds?"

"Well, I don't see why not!" He spoke lightly, although it was quite clear to Lucy that the idea did not please him. "Don't wander too far though, it will not do if you both are caught in the rain and catch cold before your big day!"

"Of course." Without a moment's hesitation, Kaito leapt up from his seat and pulled the blonde easily off of her own by the wrist. She went without complaint, more than glad to be on her feet again. "We'll be back within the hour, you have my word."

Once outside and away from the unpleasant company of her father, Lucy shook herself from Kaito's grip, and crossed her arms over her chest, her expression that of reluctant gratitude, which quickly changed to suspicion when he burst into a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"You, of course!" He snickered, placing the palm of his hand across his forehead. "You should have seen your face when I walked in the door!"

"E-Excuse me?" Lucy stared at him, her mouth agape. "And whose fault is it that I was so surprised? You knew back then in Balsam exactly who I was, and you never even bothered to tell me anything about what my father had planned!"

"I wanted to see what would happen." Kaito shrugged as he tagged along half a step behind her and entered the rose garden that had been growing since she was a toddler. "And it was worth it. I honestly didn't think I could have controlled myself for much longer in that stuffy room with that stuffy old fool."

Lucy forced herself to keep a stoic face and her glare intact, though the temptation to laugh was difficult to resist. She cleared her throat, muttering, "You don't act like the others...", earning a strange look from her fiance.

"The others?" He prompted. "Ah, you mean other wealthy heirs to land, stock and money?" Lucy nodded in reply. "How many men has your father pushed you on in your life before you ran away to become a guild-mage? I must say, I've already been betrothed to a number of young ladies, but not I nor any of them ever thought of doing what you did."

"Are you saying I should have just let my father use me until the day he died?" Lucy snapped at him. "That I should have stayed in my cage, being told what to wear, how to act and who to marry?"

"Not at all, in fact, I'm impressed, envious even. But, I must ask you, if you are so against being here, why did you come back?"

Lucy realized they had come to a stand-still right outside one of the gardener's sheds, where all the tools were kept for trimming the hedges, harvesting the grapes in the vineyard, and planting flowers during the different seasons. She gave him a studious look, noticing that he must have been at least six feet tall, before asking, "Why do you care?"

"Curiosity." He answered bluntly. "I wanted to know my future wife before I married her, is that so wrong?"

"I'm not here to marry you, sir!" Lucy said before she could stop herself.

"You're not?" He was now smirking. "Well your father is in for a surprise." Lucy did not bother with a retort, she had already given away too much. "So what? Did he threaten you then?"

"None of your business."

"I'll take that as a yes. So what do you have planned to win this daddy-daughter war?"

"Look, I just said-!"

Kaito cut her off, turning her face towards him. "Would you answer my questions if I said I would help you?"

Lucy shut her mouth. She hadn't expected to gain an ally in this situation, much less from the man who she was being engaged to. It was unexpected, but not unwelcome. "How and why would you help me?" She tried to sound as aloof as possible.

"In any way that I can, of course. As long as I'm not liable for any blame from your or my father. Between us, I'm not ready to be married just yet."

"You mean you don't want to have responsibilities just yet." Lucy mumbled under her breath, though he heard her anyway.

"As a matter of fact, that's exactly it. I love my life exactly the way it is right now. And if you have a plan, I suggest laying it on me. That way, we can both end this chapter of our lives on a happy note."

She couldn't think of any reason not to believe his words, but she was still hesitant in confiding absolutely everything regarding her plot against her father, so she kept most of the important points to herself, only telling him that if he earnestly wanted to help her, he would follow any instructions she gave him in the future. He wasn't very satisfied with this, but didn't goad her further on the subject. Lucy continued to guide him along on the tour of her former home, answering any question regarding the property and its history until fat droplets of rain began to fall, signaling that it was time to head back.

"Listen," Kaito latched onto her wrist once they had reached the closest entrance to the manor, a small discreet door the servants used for easy passage from the gardens to the kitchens. "I know I may not sound as though I mean ity, but I am on your side, Lucy."

Taken slightly aback by the informal address, Lucy finally cracked a smile as she replied, "I'm glad for that. Really, thank you. I'm happy I can finally trust someone around here. It's so lonely with no one in the house to talk to." With that said, they then retreated inside, escaping the thunder and lightning that had taken over the sky to fill the heavens with music.

However, neither the heir nor heiress could avoid the coming storm that would cause more destruction than any natural occurrence in nature could.

* * *

><p><strong>OMG U GUYSSS! I'm so sorry about the wait! My laptop's keyboard has a virus and it makes it very difficult to type anything at all! Anyway, here's the new chapter. I was quite excited myself to get Kaito back into the story. But I know OC's are kind of annoying to some, and rly he only has one part after this chapter where he's needed, so don't worry, Ill try 2 make his existence as painless as possible. Sorry about the wait, once again! Hope you enjoyed this, hopefully the next chapter won't take so long!<strong> 

**Aren't you all absolutely LOVING the manga right now? When Mashima wants to write a shoujo scene, HE DOES IT. AND DOES IT WELL! :3**


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